On Good Friday in 2012, our lives took a significant turn when my Father-In-Law suffered a stroke while residing in our home. He and his wife occupied our second-floor apartment. Following his hospitalization and subsequent rehabilitation at a local retirement home, he returned home after two months. To accommodate his needs, we had to undertake various modifications, including the construction of a wheelchair ramp leading to our back deck, the installation of a stair climber lift, and the addition of grab bars in his living space. Additionally, we acquired essential equipment such as a hospital bed, wheelchair, cane, walker, and shower chair to assist him in his daily activities.
Initially, there was some improvement in his mobility over the first two years. He could manage short walks down the hallway with the aid of a cane or walker, though he always required a wheelchair nearby for resting. However, as his mobility declined further in subsequent years, we had to implement more adaptations to enable his wife, a petite woman, to care for him with minimal assistance. Despite being of shorter stature, Bob was a heavy individual, weighing around 300 pounds at the time of his stroke.
Thus, the concept of the Walker-Go-Round was born out of necessity. It was devised to facilitate his transition from bed to wheelchair since he had lost the ability to pivot his body. Though Bob could still stand and sit, his ability varied, and Peggy, his wife, relied on this invention to assist him for a considerable period before eventually requiring my assistance due to his inability to lift himself.
Regrettably, Peggy has since passed away, and now my wife and I shoulder the responsibility of caring for him on a daily basis. The Walker-Go-Round significantly alleviates the strain on our backs as we use it day and night to assist him in and out of bed.
During a period when visiting nurses attended to Bob’s medical needs, I utilized the Walker-Go-Round to facilitate his movements for their assessments. Their positive feedback prompted inquiries about its origin, with both nurses expressing interest in utilizing such a device in their professional capacities. While I informed them that I had developed it myself and was in the process of patenting it, I expressed hope that they would witness its wider adoption in the future.
For caregivers like us, the Walker-Go-Round represents a long-awaited solution to the challenges we face, offering invaluable assistance in the demanding task of providing care..
J. Bryan Esworthy
