Ben Dauterive, 14, lifts himself with the help of the “TV chair” and its inventor, Ross Dauterive, Ben’s father. The idea for the invention, intended for people who suffer from cerebral palsy or another neuromuscular disease, came while watching Ben stand in church with the help of the pew in front of him.
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 | 2 a.m.
A bit of divine inspiration turned Ross Dauterive into an inventor.
The preacher at Green Valley Evangelical Lutheran had asked the congregation to rise, and Dauterive watched as his then-8-year-old son, Ben, who suffers from cerebral palsy, put his little hands on the pew in front of him and hoisted himself to a standing position.
The light went on for Dauterive: If he could make something similar to that pew, it would allow his son — who uses a wheelchair — to stand on his own at home.
It took a few years. He mapped out the idea and purchased bundles of plywood. He took apart an old office chair and hunted down a 3-foot-long metal bar.
He had to overcome a heart attack and stroke along the way, but Dauterive’s brainstorm progressed from a wood model cut in his garage to an adjustable seat on a steel contraption, thanks to some industrial welding courtesy of a local shop.
The final result is a chair custom-designed to help people who suffer from neuromuscular diseases. It’s partly an exercise machine, partly a device to help disabled people stand and, for Ben, partly a toy.
And it’s unique. The U.S. government issued Dauterive a patent for it last year: No. 7,318,795 B2.
The prototype sits in Dauterive’s living room, on the wood floor between a computer nook and a big-screen television.
“This should help a lot of children someday,” Dauterive, 47, says in his Louisiana drawl. “And it’s really a simple thing.”
Each morning Ben, now an eighth grader, uses it to work out. His dad dubbed it the “TV Chair” because Ben put it to a lot of use while watching his favorite movies.
It has straps into which he can tuck his feet and a steel bar in front of the chair that he can grab to lift himself into a standing position from a seat that includes a knee pad to further stabilize his weak legs.
He has to do 50 “stand-ups” before he is allowed to fire up the PlayStation 3 and play video games.
Dauterive, who quit his job as a Henderson firefighter four years ago to focus on caring for Ben, figures he can lease his idea or sell it outright. For now he’s setting up a Web site, TVchair.net, to sell the devices for about $2,800 each. He can make one in his garage, with some welding aid, in about 10 days.
A family in California ordered one and sent him a letter telling him how much it was helping their child and how thankful they were.
Dauterive said the letter “made me cry the first time I saw it.”
He’s hoping he can feel that way many more times.
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