lifting devices--how to pick?

[g8a2]

This has been a bad week! My mom has had ALS for 7 years and she at home with my Dad.
Two days ago we find out he has renal cancer and his kidney needs to be removed, this is scheduled for tomorrow. I need quick advice about what kind of manual or electric lift to buy. There's not a lot of space. My Mom is basically paralyzed and can't speak. I need to be able to get her in/out of bed to her wheelchair and then a recliner which she loves to sit in. I also need to be able to get her on a portable toilet. I need one person to be able to do this. I also need to be able to get pants up and down. It's a big list! I needs folks that understand ALS to give me advice. She stays in one room-the living room, so I don't need to go from room to room and we can't attach to the ceiling. Please HELP!:!::-(

 

[Diane H]

A Hoyer lift will probably work well and will be the fastest to get. Any Medical supply company can get you one and filing insurance claims doesn't have to be done before you get it. Also, call the nearest MDA office and explain your situation. They may have one available. For using the toilet or commode you need a specific type of sling, a hygiene or toileting sling-- not a transfer or commode sling. The best way to make the whole process work is to not wear under pants and cut the back of a skirt or pants open. For the pants, cut the back seam from below the waist band to an inch above the crotch seam. (No sewing needed right now.) Now there will be no need to pull her pants down or up again. Just transfer her over the commode.And when she is sitting down no one can tell the pants have been altered. Check my website for details on using a lift and sling. Toilet Troubles

 

[Atsugi]

Electric. Definitely. My 14 year old daughter used an electric Hoyer lift to transport my PALS from bed or chair to toilet.

 

[g8a2]

Thanks for the quick response, I need to decide in the next day or two.

 

[minnesota]

Hoyer will be the least expensive and as mentioned the als loan closet (medical supply warehouse) typically has lifts you can loan for free.

If you're interested we recently purchased a used portable ceiling lift (it doesn't attach to the ceiling)! Type in those words on your search and you can see the pic!

We use the lift from bed to power wheelchair (Pwc) and then from Pwc to bedside commode! It's an easy track system with a voyager motor! Best and easiest I've ever used! Eliminated my nighttime neighbor lifters and allows me to do all of the transferring with ease!

 

[g8a2]

This allowed you to lift alone easily? We are trying to figure out if one person can do this. How do you solve taking the pants down for bathroom? Does it take a lot of room because we are limited in space. I appreciate your response! I'm so stressed out trying to figure this out and hoping my Dad's surgery goes well. This site can be a life saver.

 

[minnesota]

G8a2---yes I use it by myself! I'm 5'2 and pretty small! I've lifted with a gait belt for over a year!

Pants....tip back in power wheelchair and slide them down, put sling on (or it can be left on in the morn) and when it's time to go, strap on lift device, lift out of Pwc, turn pals and press button to go on commode! When returning to wheelchair I put a pad down in case I missed some and then reverse the process of pulling pants up. I will be cutting the bottom out of some pants this weekend--easier!

Hope that helps!

 

[lgelb]

If space is really limited, the oldest Hoyer lift, I believe, is also the narrowest at its widest point -- the power version is the PC-HLA-2. But before you buy a lift, measure how much open leg room you need to get the lift around her recliner and wheelchair. If she stays in one room (even to sleep?), the portable gantry w/ a Voyager-like lift might be the best option, actually.

Minnesota, I'm interested in how you pull pants _up_ in the wheelchair, given that you can't "tip up" [unless you have anterior tilt? we don't]. We haven't succeeded in that.

 

[minnesota]

Sorry for the slow reply...I can barely keep my head above water!

The wheelchair is custom made and tilts back so pals weight is on back. At that point I can grab his pants and slide them down. Without the tilt it seems imperative to have open back pants! Good luck! I know there is so much to learn!

 

[lgelb]

Yes, that's what I figured. We have side snap, stretchy pants that work OK but can't actually be pulled up like real pants. The tilt/recline isn't enough to do that for 250 lb. in our case. The flaps cover his hips and we always have blankets over his legs anyway.

 

[SMP51]

. We haven't succeeded in that.

not Marie here but....
I have simply opened up the back seam and waist with scissors. the pant legs are intact. being that the days of standing are over we just slip his legs in the pant legs and and tuck the rest of the pants around his waist like a lap blanket....instantly dressed and no one is the wiser!