Grandpa Ralph's buggy is freedom rider for sick kids
Walking around, playing with toys, taking your woobie everywhere you go are all normal functions of the daily routine when you are a little girl.
Normal that is, if you are a little girl that doesn’t have infant leukemia and are fighting for your life. For these kids, just getting out of bed can feel like the fight of a lifetime.
“I remember watching in anguish as Autumn struggled to pull her IV pole around after her bone marrow transplant,” said Ralph Lawrence, inventor of the MoveAround IV Buggy.
The IV Buggy is Lawrence’s brainchild that he conceived to help Autumn gain mobility during cancer treatments she underwent as a toddler.
Autumn Lawrence, Ralph’s granddaughter, was diagnosed with infant leukemia in 2005, at seven and a half months old.
Autumn went in for her six-month check-up with the pediatrician and after receiving normal vaccines, her thigh swelled to an abnormal level. The doctor told her parents that it could be normal, but to keep an eye on it. After the symptoms and swelling got worse, Autumn went to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for further testing.
“She was sent to Hasbro for tests and after seven to eight hours in the E.R., the doctor said she had leukemia,” said Carlene Lawrence, Autumn’s mother.
This devastating diagnosis was one that no one could see coming, but the family never wavered in their fight to save their daughter’s life.
“She had to have a bone marrow transplant, it was her best option,” said Carlene Lawrence.
After running tests on the entire family, they luckily discovered that Autumn’s baby brother, Leif, was a 100 percent match.
“On January 4th, Autumn received a transplant and was in the hospital for two months,” said Carlene Lawrence.
Living in a hospital can be uncomfortable and unpleasant; for kids, it can be unbearable.
“Autumn wanted to get around and we were struggling with her IV pole,” said Carlene Lawrence.
Autumn was given a backpack, with all the items she needed to carry around, and one day they put the pack into a little shopping cart that she could push around.
“She was unable to move around the house without someone constantly helping her.
Once Autumn started using Buggy I, she could move around somewhat effortlessly and she got more exercise and increased her strength and stamina. She instantly became happier and content, and more importantly, she acted and felt like a little girl again. All those feelings and benefits helped in Autumn’s recovery,” said Ralph Lawrence.
The buggy that Ralph built was part shopping cart and part IV pole carrier. It allowed Autumn to have her toys, stickers and juice with her, while also accounting for the IV pole she could not live without.
“Autumn always liked to have her special items with her,” said Carlene Lawrence.
A week after Autumn had her buggy, she started eating on her own and was weaned off of IV nutrition. Her home nurse was so blown away by Autumn’s progress that she suggested the family do more with the Buggy.
“I came out of retirement. I thought maybe I could improve the quality of life for other kids and make something good out of a horrible situation,” said Ralph Lawrence.
Ralph took the Buggy to Hasbro, to find out what nurses and doctors liked about it and what they would change. They discussed stability, mobility, and cleanliness. Ralph then, with the help of a product design firm, tweaked the prototype accordingly and applied for a patent.
“The handle is adjustable for toddlers to teens. The plastic bin lifts right out so you can take it and clean it,” said Ralph Lawrence.
The Buggy is now being used in Hasbro’s inpatient and outpatient clinics.
“It came to us as a prototype, now it has evolved. It is more flexible and it’s multicolored,” said Marianne Cooney, manager of child life services at Hasbro.
The Buggy is not limited to Rhode Island either. There are orders from hospitals in Texas and North Carolina.
Most devices are designed with the caregiver in mind, allowing them to provide mobility and assist the patient, but the Buggy is designed for the patient.
“This is the only one where the patient gets physical therapy,” said Ralph Lawrence.
The added mobility and independence of the child receiving IV therapy means less of a burden on the caregiver. Since the Buggy is pushed like a shopping cart, it encourages the child to walk, which in turn, means they are improving their physical therapy.
“They control the IV instead of the IV controlling them,” said Ralph Lawrence.
The Buggy is made and manufactured in Rhode Island, a feat that Ralph Lawrence is particularly proud of. The only out-of-state work was the intellectual property rights and the company’s taxes; both services that were donated by outside companies.
“I made a conscious effort to have it in the state,” said Ralph Lawrence.
Autumn is now cancer free and experienced her first day of kindergarten last week. Grandpa Ralph is determined to spread the benefits of the Buggy to hospitals and caregivers throughout the country and eventually the world.
Anyone interested in the Buggy is encouraged to call Ralph at (401) 595-4370 or visit the website, .