- Joined
- May 29, 2014
- Messages
- 1,013
- Reason
- Lost a loved one
- Diagnosis
- 04/2014
- Country
- US
- State
- VA
- City
- Poquoson
Kaye,
I look back now and wish I had noted when certain things had happened. I can kind of recreate them by remembering what else we were doing at the time. For Darcey, movement with the walker was becoming more and more scary a proposition. So we moved to a scooter (Oct 2013). The scooter worked so well that we got a second one just to leave upstairs (Nov 2013). The timing was good as it became more and more difficult to stand. I would lift her by hooking my arm under her arm and using my height to raise her to a standing position. I'd then help her pivot (sometimes by moving her feet) 45 degrees to where she wanted to sit (bed, commode, etc). By Dec, we'd had a fall in the hospital parking lot after an IVIG session while trying to transfer from scooter to the front seat in our van. It took 3 of us to get her up... but her legs wouldn't hold her upright enough to turn and sit in the car. Ultimately we called for an ambulance to get her home... and again for the to/from for the next day's IVIG at the hospital. In December we got her PWC... but still, transfers from it to the front seat in the van were becoming more and more difficult and scary. We had two more falls... both surprised us and I was able to ease her to the ground without her getting too hurt (legs always bend the wrong way). In January, she was no longer able to lock her legs reliably on standing... and we purchased an Odyssey with the BraunAbility conversion. Now, instead of transferring, we backed her into the van and up into the front passenger area while still in her PWC. What a wonderful change that brought! We also started using the Hoyer lift or "Jim Bear Hugs" for any transfer. No more standing... it just wasn't safe. And for us, the transfer board never really worked.
It looks like you're both attacking this well. For us it was important to identify that a change was occurring and to recognize what we needed to move to (or do) BEFORE we most needed it and/or she got hurt. Keep up the good work!
Jim
I look back now and wish I had noted when certain things had happened. I can kind of recreate them by remembering what else we were doing at the time. For Darcey, movement with the walker was becoming more and more scary a proposition. So we moved to a scooter (Oct 2013). The scooter worked so well that we got a second one just to leave upstairs (Nov 2013). The timing was good as it became more and more difficult to stand. I would lift her by hooking my arm under her arm and using my height to raise her to a standing position. I'd then help her pivot (sometimes by moving her feet) 45 degrees to where she wanted to sit (bed, commode, etc). By Dec, we'd had a fall in the hospital parking lot after an IVIG session while trying to transfer from scooter to the front seat in our van. It took 3 of us to get her up... but her legs wouldn't hold her upright enough to turn and sit in the car. Ultimately we called for an ambulance to get her home... and again for the to/from for the next day's IVIG at the hospital. In December we got her PWC... but still, transfers from it to the front seat in the van were becoming more and more difficult and scary. We had two more falls... both surprised us and I was able to ease her to the ground without her getting too hurt (legs always bend the wrong way). In January, she was no longer able to lock her legs reliably on standing... and we purchased an Odyssey with the BraunAbility conversion. Now, instead of transferring, we backed her into the van and up into the front passenger area while still in her PWC. What a wonderful change that brought! We also started using the Hoyer lift or "Jim Bear Hugs" for any transfer. No more standing... it just wasn't safe. And for us, the transfer board never really worked.
It looks like you're both attacking this well. For us it was important to identify that a change was occurring and to recognize what we needed to move to (or do) BEFORE we most needed it and/or she got hurt. Keep up the good work!
Jim