PALS has lost function in arms only - need ideas

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On that theme, we used large thick bendy cuttable large-bore straws and depending on the setting, plastic juice cups with ridges. As it gets more tiring to drink, and you need thicker drinks, the large bore part is particularly helpful. These are only available on line as far as I know.
 
My Chris lost the ability to form any seal and suck really early. I designed and a family member helped assemble this contraption. However, he did have a tiny bit of movement still in one finger. This is the thing with ALS - which muscles go in which order make all the difference to what works. His arms did not work. He would sit, I would position his arms with pillows and put his one finger with a little movement inside the loop. This video is when he could move his arms, but he could not pick anything up or hold anything.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N92s34RzoVs
 
Hi all, thank you so much for your input. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. It is such a relief to be welcomed by such a caring community!

Laurie – Thank you for sharing about your husband’s progression. We are discussing the foot mouse and I think it will be perfect. She has a bit of movement in one finger and wrist but no strength to lift or extend her arm so she can use a touch screen but only if it’s positioned the right way. Glad to hear head tracking and voice control is already built in to most devices.

Affected – Thank you for helping me get this message to the right section and for the sweet video of Chris drinking his coffee. His smile is infectious and it made me smile to watch. My PALS also has one relatively strong finger left for now which we are so thankful for.

Doing My Best – Thank you so much for sharing about your husband’s progression. I am so happy to hear how the Obi worked for you. This is something I am definitely going to look into more. The price is high but I will see what I can do about borrowing one. We also have access to smart engineers (PALS included) and a 3D printer so we might be able to rig something up. Thanks for the words of encouragement. All I want is to help make things easier for her during a time that couldn’t be more difficult. We do have an Alexa, great idea to connect it to lights and speakers.

Tomswife – Thank you for sharing these resources. I checked out active hands, the ALSA, CCALS, and the gadgets section of this forum. Thank you for all your informative posts on this thread and on other threads over the years! And thank you for helping my post find the right section of the forum – I appreciate it so much.

Kim – THANK YOU for the bidet seat idea - it is brilliant. I ordered one as soon as I saw your message and she LOVES it so far!!

Kljack – Thank you for sharing the cup holder design – it’s genius. We are going to make something similar and I know it will be extremely helpful. You’re so kind to share solutions with me!

For all who are following – we have found using this leg mount to hold her phone to be helpful when she is sitting on the couch Ram body mount for legs We strap it around her leg and attach a spring loaded phone holder. This way she can sit on the couch and her phone is positioned low enough that she can use it with her better hand and she can Facetime without having to hold it. If anyone is interested I can post the links to all the parts we used and more info about how to assemble.

The biggest daily difficulties are eating, drink refills, getting dressed, showering, and carrying things from one room to another. She can walk around freely but she obviously can’t bring anything with her. Anyone have a creative solution for that?
 
As to transporting items, if she can still roll a small table, plastic shelving unit, or cart with the strong finger foot or hip, that might help. Or sit on a rolling storage unit and propel with feet. Not clear on what she can get things out of or from on top.
 
if she travels frequently from room to room on the same level could she wear a belt attached to a kind of leash and drag a child,s cart with whatever? Years ago I had a fracture and was non weight bearing crutches so could not carry anything. The solution suggested was similar though the solution was to throw a weighted line and then reel it in from location two. Doubt she could throw unless she somehow could do it with her legs which is why I suggest dragging. the solution I actually used was a back pack but I had no arm limitations
 
KimT, what kind of bidet did you get? I bought the Neo + bidet attachment but the "warm" water is a headache. It's always either too cold or too hot.

You guys are so ingenious. The photo and the video are unbelievable.
 
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