Aides

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Tkthiede

Active member
Joined
Feb 25, 2019
Messages
63
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
01/2019
Country
US
State
WY
City
Cheyenne
When did you start using aides for showers and dressing? I’m post op and receiving home health therapies so I’ve had CNA’s helping with showers for a couple weeks. Otherwise my husband has been helping. Just wondering if I should start looking for someone.
 
Not a bad idea to hire someone to help part time a few days a week. They can also help with rom exercises while they’re there. Eventually you can expand their hours and hire others as needed.
 
Ditto to what Karen said. I started in January when it became too hard to dress and shower. The aide we hired is an STNA with physical therapy training. So that my husband wouldn't have to do everything before work in the morning, she comes after he leaves for showering, dressing, ROM, and meals. Now she helps with toileting needs and stays more hours/day.
 
When to hire my first aide was a difficult decision. Just being way too independent. Looking back I wish I would have done it earlier. Don’t do it like me. I waited until everything I did caused extreme exhaustion and emotions boiling over. I had a few falls I probably didn’t need to have. Hire an aide as soon as you start wondering if you should if you can afford it.
 
In my area we call them PSW, Personal Service Workers and they are terrific, they show up every morning,get me dressed,take care of toilet needs and give me a sponge bath or a shower, which ever I prefer and comb my hair. They are supplied through the ALS society free of charge.
Al
 
How do i start the conversation with a fiercely anxious worn out independent wife, that views this as another hassle >?
 
How do i start the conversation with a fiercely anxious worn out independent wife, that views this as another hassle >?
I am no expert, perhaps one of the forum members who is a CALS can better advise you. However, from my personal experience, my husband wouldn't listen to me about securing help. He became irrate at the suggestion. His mother and sister encouraged him to get housecleaning help and our daughter started the conversation regarding home care for me. I was not present for any of these discussions. So perhaps trusted family members or friends can be the conversation starters-without you around.
 
As a CALS, I would start looking for support before you actually need it. If your cals is hesitant because it is another hassle, validate that feeling, as it IS a hassle and takes time and lots of effort to secure the right help. It can be very frustrating. Start with your clinic’s social worker, reach out to your local chapter of the ALS association, and realize folks with experience working with ALS are rare and you are looking for someone who is willing to learn the myriad of equipment and not someone who tells you what they can’t do. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut about who an agency sends and to try another agency. They usually start with their best person, so if that person isn’t right, switch to a different agency. Start with just a few hours a week, the best help I have found comes and gets my pals up, dressed, shaved, etc, a few days a week. I have had the experience of an aide with the ‘deer in the headlights’ look, but found a subsequent one who has been wonderful. Make a list and take breaks when the search gets overwhelming.
 
So thank you
I am VA, and have already preyed on by home health care vendors. Billed the VA $7000 having not once stepped into my house. The VA IG finally got it right, a mistake ? When VA restarted the same illegal company called, we said hell no, then wuhan virus scare came
 
This service is supplied free of charge by the Ontario Government through the recommendation of the als society.
Al
 
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