VIDEO: Tek RMD standing mobility device helps young Devonshire man live independently
A standing mobility device from Matia Robotics is helping a young man from Devonshire live a more independent life following a successful fundraising campaign.
The Tek RMD from US-based Matia Robotics allows individuals with walking disabilities to go from sitting, to standing, to mobile in just seconds. After years of development, planning, and testing, the Tek RMD is the firm’s first product to hit the market and it si now sold in 23 countries around the world.
Able Sharp, 25, launched a fundraising campaign earlier this year to buy the high-tech mobility device as it would enable him to get around in the upright position.
He had already begun to embrace a more independent life after moving into an apartment block in Dartington, built by South Devon Rural Housing Association (SDR) to provide people with learning disabilities with greater self-reliance, away from the family home.
For Able, a mobility device that enabled him to get around in the upright position would have many advantages over a conventional wheelchair or mobility scooter.
In a few short months, thanks to the generosity of a huge number of donors, Able’s target of £20,000 was reached and he purchased the Tek RMD device.
Within a few weeks, Able was zooming around the locality and going shopping with the help of his new stand-up device.
Mobility aids that maintain an upright position for the user has many health advantages over a conventional wheelchair or mobility scooter such as improved breathing, enhanced blood flow, bladder and bowel function, increased bone density, reduced pressure ulcers, spasticity and contractures.
Speaking to Devon Rural Housing Association, Able’s mother, Alex Sharp, wanted to expressed her heartfelt thanks to the local community for their response to Able’s appeal and made a video showing Able out on his TekRMD, among some of the local people and places that he enjoys as part of his daily life.
The video captures the improved posture and mobility that the machine offers, but also the sheer zest for life that Able has always shown since surviving a critical illness as a toddler.
