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julez

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hi,

it's been a long time since i've visited because i get depressed easily. but i needed help so i'm back.

mom was diagnosed with bulbar onset in May 2009 although really the symptoms started May 2008. Now she only has use of her right arm. we used to be able to lift her and have her hold herself up on the walker. about a month ago, she can no longer. dad and i rotate to help as we both work full time and we have hospice only in the mornings. so the struggle is for her to lift mom to the commode (portable) and back. WE bought a sling with a hole but the hole is too small. Maybe I can modify it? If that is the case, we can get the sling on her once a day and leave it on so that we can lift her to/from the toilet without problem. Right now we can't even get it on correctly so that it is not hurting her when we lift her. Maybe from bed we can easier but from wheelchair it's too hard to shift her body to get the sling under her correctly. I've searched youtube videos for hours and cannot find help. Do ya'll have a purchased or modified sling that has an opening big enough that she can basically have the sling on all day? please take pictures/provide links. I don't know what to do as I am too weak. She's not a big woman at all (100-110lbs kept steadily based on her perscription for calories for use with her PEG tube) but dad is also small framed and back is hurting from picking her up, and i'm 110lbs 5'2" and pretty weak so I simply cannot lift her (I did once, barely pivoted her to the toilet and could not get her on her wheelchair correctly after as hard as I tried). Please help!
 
Depending on your lift, you would need either four or six points. Here is a picture to this sling, the divided leg sling. The long "tails" are looped around the upper legs, and you're looking at the head support at the top of the picture, which of course, is in the back. The entire underneath of your mother will be uncovered. Many brands make this basic style.

I think you'd want a size "small" for your mother...
 

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We went to a medical store to purchase a sling and the guy at the store said that a using a sling requires the sling to go under her butt or else she will fall. We have a manual hoyer lift similar to the attached photo.

I guess I see what he is saying so I can't understand how the u sling can be used if it is not cover her bottom...isn't she going to simply slide off or simply be hanging by the leg straps and thus really hurting her? This is assuming that she is lifted in a seated position (not laying down).
 

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Julez,
The picture of the sling "abbas child" posted is the one like I use. If your mom can lean forward in her powerchair, the sling can be slipped down the backside. It does not go under the butt. It comes with or without the head support, so make sure you get it with head support.

Judy
 
The slings go under the legs, then cross in front, forming an "X", which keeps the legs stable. The base of the back of the sling needs to be down the patient's back, to just above the tailbone. Then the patient can lean back (relaxed) or lean forward and hold on, if hands can grasp. The reason it shouldn't cover the tailbone is that it will cause friction, leading to or helping to lead to a sore... very painful. As long as the under the leg straps are high on the leg, just under the groin, they will not slip. The problem with slipping only occurs when the straps are bunched, or are too low on the legs.
 
Julez,

I have not fallen through yet.:lol:

The slings come in different sizes, according to weight. The straps that go under her legs will make sure she does not fall through. About the straps hurting her legs, I cannot say. They don't hurt my legs, but her skin might be more sensitive.

Here is a picture of the U sling, but without the head support:
 

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Julez, if the sling did go under her butt, it would be in the way and become soiled every time she used it. That is also a drawback to the type with a simple hole in the sling.
 
Thanks for your help everyone! We are returning the full body sling with commode hole (we never used it because we couldn't even get it under her) and will request a u sling with head support. It's funny that the guy at the medical store (who apparently seemed like he knew what he was talking about...) said that U Slings HAD to go under the butt and told us it was not a smart idea to get a U Sling as we would probably drop her. Maybe he didn't really know what he was talking about....
 
Julez, I think you are right, I don't think the medical store clerk knew what he was talking about.
 
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