They attempt to help a terminally ill photographer who can no longer use his hands to operate a camera. They try to bring cutting-edge communication to a remote Welsh village which has no internet access and an unreliable telephone connection. And they work to give some control back to a young designer who has Parkinson's disease and who has been unable to use a pen since developing tremors in her hands two years ago.
The team attempt to tackle one of the biggest rural crimes in the UK and work to find a way to build a BMX bicycle for a young boy who was born with no hands or feet. Meanwhile, in Peterborough, 56-year-old Graham is suffering from locked-in syndrome, meaning he is almost completely paralysed and unable to speak. Can the team come up with a way for him to have conversations with the medical team around him and, most importantly, his family and friends?
Mum of two Shamreen suffers from a degenerative condition which has left her with very limited vision, and she is struggling to get around in public with her two young sons. Seven-year-old Rosie had brain surgery as a baby and now wears a cumbersome medical helmet. She desperately wants the team to invent her a new helmet that will be less visible and help her fit in with her friends. And the team are challenged with coming up with a solution to help two teenage brothers with cystic fibrosis - a debilitating disease that severely affects their breathing.
Inventors try to help a disabled man who dreams of snowboarding, a hairdresser who was born with one hand and a man who could die if his skin is exposed to sunlight.
Inventors try to help a boy with a rare form of epilepsy, a man with cerebral palsy who loves sailing and an older woman with multiple sclerosis who lives on her own.
12-year-old Pollyanna lost her leg in a horrific accident when she was just two years old. She was waiting at a bus stop with her mother and grandmother when a bus careered into them, killing her grandmother and seriously injuring her and her mother. In the last ten years she has had 21 operations and been fitted with more than 20 different prosthetic legs as she has grown up. Despite the challenges she has faced, Pollyanna has a determination not to let her disability hold her back from achieving her goals, including her dream of becoming a ballerina. But the ballet world is unforgiving and Pollyanna has been marked down in exams for being unable to do moves that would involve her missing leg, including going up on her toes - or demi-pointe. Engineer Yusuf Mohammed takes up the challenge to build her a prosthetic leg with the required movement in the foot. 73-year-old Bobby was born with brittle bone disease which has gradually resulted in him losing his hearing. The nerve endings in his ears are too damaged to have a hearing aid and Bobby's friends have known him since before he went deaf so they have never learnt to communicate with him through sign language. Due to advancing age, his lip reading skills are in decline and he struggles to understand anyone other than his wife Linda. In social situations this means that she must stay by his side and try to relay conversations - an arduous task which makes socialising increasingly difficult. Technologist and software engineer Akram Hussein jumps at the chance to see if he can help Bobby re-join group conversations with his friends. And he is willing to go the extra mile - even getting his ears temporarily filled with silicone so that he can experience what life is like for Bobby. Tobijah was paralysed from the chest down in a car accident. The accident severely damaged his spinal cord and the signals from his brain no longer reach the nerves in his hands. As a result, he is no longer able to open and close his
In this episode, the fixers take on three more challenges to change lives, including one of their toughest yet when they try to help a young boy with Tourette's to control his tics and behavioural issues. Eleven-year-old Malachi lives with his mum and younger brother in Cornwall. Malachi has Tourette's Syndrome, a neurological condition characterised by involuntary movements and noises called tics. He also has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and struggles with disruptive urges and violent outbursts. At school, he needs three support workers with him at all times. As Malachi gets older, his behaviour is increasingly difficult for mum Marie to manage, and she is increasingly worried that if he doesn't find a way to control himself, he will end up in serious trouble. Electronics engineer Ryan White teams up with Zoe Laughlin, an expert in materials, to explore what they can do. But their first encounter with Malachi leaves them concerned that they may have taken on more than they can manage. Knowing more about the condition could help them work out what to do, so their next stop is Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to meet one of the world's leading experts in the field, Dr Tara Murphy. Four-year-old Jasper suffered complications after contracting hand, foot and mouth disease when he was one years old. He had a heart attack and a stroke in his spine which left him paralysed from the waist down. His parents have sought the best medical help they can get for their son, in the hope that he will one day be able to walk again, but so far he has only gained enough strength to be able to crawl. They are hoping that the team can come up with an invention that will enable Jasper to be upright and moving his legs, so that he can work on building the strength in his muscles and get used to being in a standing position. Technologist and designer Haiyan Jang takes up the challenge and enlists the help of inventor and engineer Yusuf Mohammed to help search for a
Simon Reeve follows some of the UK's leading designers and engineers as they attempt to help three children with disabilities. Eight-year-old Josh from London has a rare condition called norrie disease. As a result, he was born blind. Can the team of designers and engineers find a way for Josh to play with the other kids in the playground? Eight-year-old twins Ayala and Caira were born prematurely at 25 weeks, with severe bleeds on the brain and holes in their hearts. Caira developed into a non-disabled child with vocal cord paralysis, and Ayala has cerebral palsy. Often Ayala has to sit and watch her twin do the things she'd love to do herself. Can the team find a way for the girls to play together? Three years ago ten-year-old Aman was left with severe brain damage after she was involved in a serious road accident. Can the team come up with a technological aid which will allow Aman to recall her childhood events as well as help her at school?
