I’ve written a few times about unusual everyday items that have come to my rescue in times of crisis – socks and the humble drinking straw feature highly amongst them. Today, once again, straws came to the rescue.

When we were in New York a couple of weeks ago I started worrying that the back of my wheelchair had bent. Something didn’t feel right but I couldn’t work out what it was and there was no sign of a bend.

A couple of days ago when we were coming through US immigration following our stay in Toronto, I felt something in the back of the chair snap. I forgot to investigate at the time because I was concentrating on not telling the US official that, “I’m an illegal alien” or that “I’ve got radical tendencies.”

This morning I remembered to check out what had happened. I discovered that three out of the four plastic loops that keep my backrest taut had snapped. This explains why it felt saggy!

Leftwing Idiot’s ordered some climbing carabineers that should arrive soon and fix the problem until I’m back in the UK. But to solve the immediate problem, an unlikely hero came to the rescue – plastic straws. I was wracking my brain for what I could use, out of the limited stuff I’ve got with me in the hotel, to replace the broken clips. Then I remembered the straws I always carry with me so I can have a drink safely – and dryly. I threaded these through the fabric loops on my chair and double-knotted them. The Velcro strap fitted comfortably through the loop and, when taut, the straws stretched into a neat little square.

I was very pleased with the finished result and my backrest is much more comfortable now. We’ll have to see how well they do, but hopefully they’ll hold things together until a more solid solution arrives.

Straws to the rescue – proving once again they’re the ultimate accessory!