Sally, come home!

[Howie]

Sorry you fell Sally, but it's motivated you to change your game plan. I spent 2 months in a nursing home, and it was a nice place to be. You had to stay in a wheelchair, but they had all kinds of activities, had live entertainment, and best of all (for me) a pretty nurse gave you a shower every other day. But I recovered, and returned home. If a nursing home is in your future, you will like it, lots of nice people to chat with.

[SalpalSally]

I need safety equipment to help me to transfer safely to my scooter, without the constant fear of falling. I want to stay home but need help in organizing a safe way to do that. Is there a good link to the kind of equipment that could help me there?

Like this gizmo?

[Howie]

I found a nifty little board you put from the chair, and slide to the bed or sofa and back when ready. But I'm not computer smart, and could not copy the URL. It was like $120. The guy did the transfer alone, and it looked safe, and easy.

[agate]

So sorry you fell, Sally! But it doesn't mean you're headed for a nursing home--unless of course you would feel better being there where the care is said to be right there when you need it.

I hope you can stay home. In your own home you know where things are, it's "your" space.

I found this in the Useful Websites thread:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

[Cat Dancer]

Sally, you need to ask for an occupational therapist to come to your home, and go through it with you. The can figure out what you need to keep you safe in your home. I don't know what kind of scooter you have, but I know that some are much harder to get on and off, and it might be you need a different one , or something else to use than a scooter, like a power chair, or manual chair.

As for transferring, I don't know what the $120 transfer is, but you can get transfer boards for less that that, and a lot of that kind of equipment is covered at least in part by insurance and or Medicare. Be sure you tell the visiting nurse about this recent fall -- it will trigger a visit by the physical and occupational therapists to work with you so you are safe in your home.

As for living in a nursing home, I do hope that is a very last resort for you. I hated the six weeks I spent in one last year. I'm too independent to put up with that. Terrible food, silly games, childish activities, lack of respect -- and this was one of the "highly recommended" homes in my area.

Anyway, take care. Pay careful attention when you move from place to place, or try to get on your scooter. Those kinds of activities, along with bathing, and toileting, are where falls most often happen.

[Frog42]

I'm not sure that guy would appreciate being called a "gizmo." He is cute though.

[SalpalSally]

Howie, that looks precarious for me to do on my own.....scary. I can see myself sliding to the floor!!

Joan, that is the site where I found the picture of the gizmo I found.....above...thanks.

Cat you are so wise and agree. I am fighting the nursing home thing as a last resort. I am considering a power chair. Which one do you recommend?

Frog, not the guy, idiot...lol.

[SalpalSally]

or this pole?

[Cat Dancer]

Sally, I don't want to recommend a power chair for you, because they really are adaptable to specific needs, and I don't have any idea what your house looks like, where you most need accessibility, how you can get in/out of the house, what kind of vehicle you have, all that sort of thing. And there are several different ways of moving the chair, using a joy stick and such. All that needs to be worked out with you and your physical and occupational therapists, and then ordered "custom" for you. If you go to spinlife.com you can see pictures and read about all kinds of possibilities of power chairs, power scooters, other mobility aides. I order my wheelchairs from spinlife (and pay for them on my own) because I'm not willing to fight with the insurance company "forever" to buy one for me, but you can indeed get your insurance company and medicare to get you one, if your doctor approves.

[stillstANNding]

Sally is back! She wants a pole in her bedroom!!

ANN

[Gary]

I just want to comment about the pole thingy (gizmo). Unless I built it myself I wouldn't let either myself or someone I cared about (Sally) have one. The logistics of the mounting of it are questionable. I would never have grab bars mounted unless I could watch the installation myself or the contractor had a list of recommendations a mile long.

Whichever you decide get recommendations and talk to them yourself and better yet either try one or have your kids go look at it. Based on high school physics you would need LOTS of upper body strength to be able to use it. If you paid $120 for it (actually not that much) it would cost at least $300 to have installed properly and it would be permant.

[SalpalSally]

Thanks Cat, I will do that.

Gary, true, I'm thinking that the shorter one may be a better option?

Ann, you can use it anytime,,,lol

[Cat Dancer]

One other thing: when I was still able to get in and out of a regular car, I chose to use a manual chair, primarily because then I could get in/ out of anyone's car. The manual chair folds, is lightweight, and will fit in most car trunks, or even in the back seat. So folks picking you up can help get you in the car, then collapse the chair, stow it, and off you go. With a power chair, you're limited to only going in a vehicle that has a ramp, is large enough to fit you and the chair into it. I still use a manual chair. We bought a vehicle that is small, but is ramped, and the passenger seat removed, so I can wheel.in to it and maneuver into position to be strapped down. You do need upper body and arm strength though, to manage a manual.chair.

[SalpalSally]

Cannot get into a reg car anymore.

[SalpalSally]

Oh, I probably could, but it wouldn't be pretty..LOL