Bath equipment- sliding bench or power lift chair

[Tomswife]

We are at the point where we need more functional dme for bathing.
I do have a chair with a back in the tub. Soon Tom will no longer be able to lift his leg over the edge of the tub. He is not someone who longs for a tub soak, although it may actually benefit him now.
Should I get a "slide swivel bench" or the power chair that lowers into tub? Some other DME I don't know about?
I did call one local DME place but they only carry Medline.
Thoughts. Names of products would help. Thanks.

 

[lgelb]

Is your only shower in the tub or do you have a separate one? Often, PALS do not have the core strength long enough to make tub lowering systems worthwhile.

 

[Tomswife]

It is a tub with overhead shower.
We are thinking of removing the tub and converting to roll in shower.

 

[Mary2]

My PALS doesn't shower. That may be part of the reason for his itching and I am going to try and make sure he is rinsed well. We put resources into caregivers and removing the carpet and laying flooring for the hoyer lyft. We do bed baths and washing at the table. We do both. I do his hair at the table with a baisin.

 

[Mary2]

I meant basin.

 

[affected]

I'd look into converting to a roll in shower as a long term solution. If you search on here you will find some stunning bathroom designs that have added value and beauty to the house.

 

[MJT]

Tomswife, we were told not to let my PALS soak too long as he may get too relaxed to be able to get out of the tub. We are fortunate also to have a roll-in shower. It might be helpful to have your shower equipment before converting your shower. Nikki recommended a reclining roll-in chair. (Ours does not recline.) My PALS is fast-progressing, so we will do spit baths when he can no longer use his shower chair.

It's hard to stay in front of everything, isn't it?

Mary2, I love reading about how my CALS do things. Thanks for sharing. Everyone hang in there today! (You, too, Tillie)

 

[affected]

Sorry but 'spit bath' is not a term I've heard before and I rolled about laughing.
We do them, but I would call it a 'top and tail'.

 

[Tomswife]

We just got the swivel sliding bench. We purchased from eagle health supplies inc. Model
77692.
Www eaglehealth dot com
This is the bench with swivel and slide seat.
Although you can purchase via Amazon, these are not returnable. So i called eagle directly and bought from them. That way I was sure the model would work with our tub.
There are videos on you tube.
The OT person from VNA helped me test it with Tom in clothes. It slides very well.
Assembly is easy. No tools.

 

[MJT]

Tillie, we also call them ----- baths down here. (rhymes with "floor")

 

[Mary2]

This is a beautiful sliding bench. And my husband did use a sliding bench for awhile. But like all things this point in his abilities changed. And change can happen over a week's time. Please be careful. I would hate to see you get hurt trying to transfer your PALS.

 

[affected]

I hope you didn't pay much for this Tomswife as it may not be usable for very long as he will need full core strength to sit in that chair, especially as it looks like he will have to be able to lift his feet himself? I agree, it looks like it could be very tricky to use if he is weak.
While it does work it will be amazing. Have you decided to have a roll in shower or something else for the long term?

 

[Tomswife]

If we get x months out of it, Then it is worth it. We were using a fixed bath seat and Tom was standing to get in tub, lifting legs with my help, etc. Very very dangerous.
He will never use this unattended. He does need help lifting legs over side of tub. And i help with slide and swivel but it is very easy and glides well. It does have a seat belt.

 

[magic79]

I used the multi lift system I bought for my wife, it has a sling for the shower, and she did not need to get out of the lift to bathe. Then the lift moved her right back into her chair, and when finished, into her bed also