Palm Harbor, Florida - Matt Elflein is on a roll? literally. Elflein broke his neck in a diving accident four years ago and is often out and about in his wheelchair.
"I don't like to sit still. I like to keep going," says Elflein.
Elflein doesn't feel sorry for himself, but adjusting to life in a wheelchair was often frustrating. He searched for a device to make his wheelchair more useful and help him with his daily chores, but Elflein couldn't find anything. So instead of giving up, Elflein thought one up.
"So I wanted something simple that I could use to help me out," says Elflein.
Elflein designed a clamp and pole system that adapts to most any wheelchair.
"People can customize it," he says while taking the contraption apart. The pole, which can be mounted on either side of a wheelchair, holds removable accessories like a cup holder, a hook for keys and bags and a small table top.
The invention began as a way for Elflein to keep up with his two young daughters.
"I wanted to be normal for my kids," he says. But now Elflein has started a company called LivingEaZy and is marketing the device to others.
The table-top system runs about $200, but there's no putting a price on the feeling it gives Elflein. "Since I'm in a chair, I want to be free and this allows me to be free."
For more information on the LivingEaZy wheelchair accessories click here.
Elflein is also raising money to help others confined to wheelchairs through the Finding a Way Foundation. The group has a golf tournament fundraiser on October 5th.