Time for a wheelchair?

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pfd161

Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
13
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
01/2019
Country
US
State
ME
City
Sanford
So my PALS is my partner. She was diagnosed in January and is going down hill fast.
She needs assistance with her rollator walker and without her foot drop braces on she is
very slow and to be honest it feels dangerous.

At some point soon we will be needing a wheelchair. Her doctor is on board. At what point do
you stop toileting your pals and start using commodes or I hate to say adult diapers? Her mom takes care
of her while I am at work and I fear she won't be able to move her. ( I assume a hoyer lift is in the near future)

I have a lot of medical training as a medic and a respiratory therapist so I feel im pretty good at adapting to her
changes.... just want to be proactive vs. reactive. thanks.

Dennis
 
If you are asking the wheelchair question it is definitely time. Start the power chair process immediately. In the meantime see if there is a chair you can borrow from the lan closet of your ALSA If not buy a manual chair to keep her safe while you wait.

Re transfer / commode/ diapers. It varies. My sister never stopped transferring. But she had someone who could move her. Yes get the hoyer too. You have to figure out what works in your space and what everyone can handle. With the hoyer it doesn’t take that much strength. Can her mom do transfers that way?

I am so sorry things are moving quickly.
 
If you are asking the wheelchair question it is definitely time. Start the power chair process immediately. In the meantime see if there is a chair you can borrow from the lan closet of your ALSA If not buy a manual chair to keep her safe while you wait.

Re transfer / commode/ diapers. It varies. My sister never stopped transferring. But she had someone who could move her. Yes get the hoyer too. You have to figure out what works in your space and what everyone can handle. With the hoyer it doesn’t take that much strength. Can her mom do transfers that way?

I am so sorry things are moving quickly.
Thanks Nikki...
I think she could transfer her with a hoyer. MGH is on board with starting the process for a chair. For now we have a transport chair that she could sit in... Mostly I have her sit on her rollator walker.
thanks for the response.

Dennis
 
Most PALS do not need diapers given a CALS and a Hoyer. There are female and male urinals for bed and wheelchair use, and PALS also use a lift sling over a regular toilet or portable commode. The sling most often used across the board has divided legs (also called a U sling).
 
Can your PALS stand from a seated position with assistance ? I would put a walker in front of my PALS chair and a transfer belt around his waist, he would put his hands on the walker, I would help him stand with the transfer belt and help him keep his balance as he pivoted 90 degrees to the commode.
 
My PALS could stand to transfer for a while. Then we went to using a Beasy board for transfers. Now he is full hoyer transfer. He used the toilet for quite a while even when being transferred via hoyer. We had it raised with a toilevator, bidet seat installed as well as grab bars on both sides. Only when he had trouble holding himself upright did we move to the commode.
 
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