 Mark Jordan, the VP of sales and marketing for Bodypoint, was enjoying his daily ferry ride home from work one day when he happened to meet Sam Bridgman and his family. Striking up a conversation, Mark learned that Sam did not enjoy wearing his non-padded hip belt, and would sometimes fall out of his wheelchair. He suggested that there were other styles of hip belts worth trying and invited Sam to Bodypoint for a show-and-tell.
I met Sam on his first visit to Bodypoint. He is kind, friendly, and loves to meet new people, greeting them with a radiant smile. He is a Seattle Seahawks and Mariners fan, and loves skiing, hand-cycling, and just being outdoors. He holds a master’s degree in Sports and Entertainment Management from the University of South Florida and has worked with the Mariners, Nike, and Tampa Bay Lightning. He is currently the Business Development Coordinator for the new National Hockey League in Seattle, ensuring that facilities are accessible.
Sam was diagnosed with Friedrich’s ataxia in his teens, a rare genetic disease that causes damage to the nerves in the spinal cord, causing degenerative impairment to sensory and physical movement. He is blessed with a supportive network of family and friends. His parents purchased a wheelchair for him even before he needed or wanted one, and in college, his younger brother moved with him to Portland to be his caregiver. It may seem impossible to live a normal life when your whole body is fighting against you, but Sam accepts the challenge daily, living by the slogan: “Impossible is nothing.”
Sam owns two sets of wheels — a TiLite manual wheelchair for use at home, and a Whill Model C power wheelchair for use outside and keeping up with his friends. Both chairs were pre-installed with non-padded hip belts, but Sam found them difficult to reach and they kept falling down the chair sides. When not in use, the belts would be tucked out of sight or buckled behind the chair backs, forgotten and inaccessible by Sam. Consequently, he didn’t wear them very often. “I would use the belt only when I absolutely needed it, going fast or going down a hill. But there were many times when I wouldn’t wear the belt and would fall out of the chair. My parents and friends would get mad because I could have prevented falling. Sometimes I would forget or I didn’t want to put it on or it was too hard to reach.”
During his visit to Bodypoint, we showed Sam the Bodypoint Evoflex® Hip Belt, which addresses many of the problems he had been having. The stiffened belt straps on the Evoflex stand upright so they are easy to reach, and they can be pivoted out of the way or back in place for use. The belt is also padded for comfort. Seeing all this, Sam agreed to try replacing the current belt on his Whill power chair with the Evoflex belt.
 Although the Whill power chair is not a CRT chair, Sam was drawn to its sleek and modern look. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of that sleek look is a lack of mounting holes on the side of the chair. The only easily accessible hole was at the base of the back support, which didn’t put the belt at a very good angle for Sam’s comfort or positioning needs. So instead of using those corner holes we lengthened the Evoflex straps with a set of Evoflex Belt Extenders and then bent the Extenders at a 90-degree angle using hot water.  This allowed us to reach some pre-drilled holes on the bottom of the seat pan and mount the belt at a better angle, across Sam’s upper thighs. We were careful to attach the Belt Extenders with the locking pin facing out, to allow the Evoflex free pivot.
Sam found the Evoflex easier to use and more accessible than the belts he’d tried before, and used it often on his power chair before COVID-19 started keeping him at home. “When I went out, I used the belt all the time. It would keep me in place and I wouldn’t fall out. I feel much safer and secure and it was easier to pick up and buckle.”
Sam later requested a second Evoflex belt for his TiLite manual chair, which he uses mainly at home. During the COVID-19 quarantine, Sam has been wearing the Evoflex almost all the time, even while working in his office or headed to the bathroom. He likes that he doesn’t have to worry about falling out so much. Sam says wearing the Evoflex hip belt also empowers him to be more aware of his posture, especially when seated in his manual chair. He plans on meeting with his therapist in the near future to make adjustments to the wheelchair and the belt to better stabilize his core.
Bodypoint is pleased to support Sam on his “Impossible is Nothing” journey! We are glad to hear he is enjoying his new Evoflex hip belt and are honored that we could help him strengthen his position.
- Bin Ma, Bodypoint Product Manager
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