Ideas for building a new home for someone with ALS?

[Jeanau]

Greg, can you give me an idea of what it cost you to have a lift installed...and also was it inside or outside...and how high? Thanks!

 

[GregK]

Mine is a Garaventa Genesis.

It as part of my VA house mod so I don't know the price, sorry.

Mine is inside and has three stops: garage, main floor and upper floor.
They can be installed outdoors too.

 

[lgelb]

"Small lip"? Any jolt can be very painful when the muscles go. I'd try for "no lip" into the shower and no threshold into the bathroom (or, preferably, anywhere else). I'd also double-check that the bedroom layout works such that there is enough width/depth to use the Hoyer to transfer to/from the wheelchair and bed, and that there is room for the hospital bed, including space behind it for using the power functions (extra space for the head).

I know Diane mentioned an overhead lift and maybe that works w/ your setup, but I would try to allow for the Hoyer as well, since we don't know what her preferences will be.

I wouldn't do the stair lift/multi-level thing.

 

[swalker]

I will add that you should pay very close attention to the amount of space needed to turn the PWC so that it can make it through the various doorways. The width of halls and the turning radius available for maneuvering a wheelchair from a hall through a door (often a 90 degree turn) are particularly important.

In my house, one of the hallways is wide enough for the PWC and the doorways along that hallway are wide enough for the PWC. But there is no way to turn the PWC from the hallway into the various rooms.

If the hallway was about 6 inches wider, I could make it. Unfortunately, there is no practical way to widen the hallway in my house (bathrooms on both sides of the hallway).

You have received some excellent thoughts from others. I think your mother is very blessed to have you as a child!

Steve

 

[Will4]

All, thank you so much for taking the time to give me this input. Some of the stuff I was already doing, however, some of these suggestions I hadn't thought of and I will be adding them into this equation. Again, thank you so much everyone.

I feel so sad the hand we've all been dealt here, but as some time has passed I'm feeling like I'm gonna make this entire situation as good as it can be. And having family around just feels right, I really don't want it entirely on my father. Thanks again people.

 

[Lynda]

You have a huge heart. Your parents must be very proud of you. Good luck!

 

[gooseberry]

Will, That's what we are here for....to answer questions, offer advice and support, and give you a shoulder to lean on. . Steph

 

[Green Queen]

If your mum is still walking another thing to consider is the lawn. We just had fake lawn put in, and the bloke who did it made the lawn the same height as the pavers on the patio. I seriously didn't think it would make a difference but it really does.
There are so many awesome ideas here for you, good luck with decisions.
Janelle x

 

[Colawoman]

We're thinking about putting in a body dryer in the shower - does anyone have one?

 

[GregK]

Fancy!

I've seen mention of that but wondered what the electricity bill would look like

 

[cheerleader]

Just a thought! Toward the end it was painful for me to even hug my hubby. Helping him dry after a shower was a labor of love - and the closest touch we had each day. Glad I could do it for him and wouldn't want an automatic dryer. I valued those touches, and it was well worth the short time it took to dry him off.

 

[gooseberry]

Cheerleader I so.get that. But I wonder how the dryer would work it bed sores etc were in the picture? Still, private area would need to be hand dried so no infections.

 

[dickmurphy]

I see that someone suggested a heat lamp in the shower. An even better idea is a body dryer. It not only will keep her warm, but will also dry off her body with the blowing warm air. We put in a body dryer for my dad. He can dry all by himself and we don't have to worry about him slipping.

 

[dickmurphy]

I mentioned yesterday that we purchase a body dryer for my father. We got one of the tall, upright models. It works great and dad loves it.

 

[Nuts]

I hadn't thought of a body dryer, but we did put a heated floor in our bathroom (outside of the shower area, of course). I really heats the bathroom up nicely in the winter (it's on the south side of the house, and was miserably cold before we did that).