communication after speech and movement go

kellyh · 02-06-2010, 02:42 PM

My mom can't talk but she can make noises...she has movement of her right hand which she uses to ring a bell at night to get my attention when she has her bipap on. other than the ringing of the bell i would'nt be able to hear her. Her right hand is getting weaker & i am worried that when it goes she wont be able to wake me up. Any suggestions?

dsiple · 02-06-2010, 04:32 PM

Sorry to hear about your mom. I can make noises, so we use a baby monitor. It works well and is easily portable. If my mom wants to do something else somewhere in the house, she can and she can still hear me. Hope this helps.

GlenBrittle · 02-06-2010, 07:54 PM

I was thinking that one of those wireless doorbells might work well.

Dave C · 02-06-2010, 09:42 PM

my wife is in a similar situation. the Therapists gave us a very sensitive push pad that sounds a very annoying alarm! Nonetheless it wakes me up no problem. We are in the process of getting an eye gaze computer that will also have an alarm on it.

The push pad is about 4 inches square and we put it by her left foot since she has the most movement there. They said you can get them at Radio Shack.

Good Luck. Dave

KinzaDAF · 02-06-2010, 11:06 PM

Wow, that's a great idea. What should I ask for at RS, just push pads?

Debbie

cris · 02-07-2010, 12:31 AM

Dave C..Thanks for the 'push pad' idea!! We use the wireless doorbell right now. He's getting to the point where pushing it is getting hard for him. I'm a sound sleeper sop his yelling w/ the mask can take awhile to get me. (not so good)

Phil M · 02-07-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBrittle

I was thinking that one of those wireless doorbells might work well.

Thats what I use. It works great!

Jane · 02-07-2010, 12:41 PM

Hello All,
Here are a couple of more ideas, a push pad that is placed on the pillow and is activated with a slight turn of the head ( found this to be a little difficult to keep in place, used double sided tape to help with that issue). We also used an on/off switch connected to the call system, that was attached to the index finger (had a little splint type of piece that fit over the end of the finger) and required very little motion to activate. It could be attached to whatever finger had the most mobility left. In our case sis could move her finger less than a quarter inch, and amazingly it was enough to make this gizmo work. O.T. put us onto all this equipment.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Jane

Dave C · 02-07-2010, 09:43 PM

Sorry for the delay. the piece we have is a "mouse" for a cpu. though it has another piece so it has an L shape to it. on the back are two alligator clip so it can be fastened to a sheet, pillow, towel, almost anything (we even tape it to the hospital bed!). I will look at the back of it tomorrow and post the details on make, model etc. as well as a picture of it for everyone. It is extremely sensitive so Jen does not need alot of strength to set it off, in fact the first couple of weeks we would set it off accidently with pillows, sheets, etc.