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Sunday, August 21, 2011

On the floor? He's trying!

These past couple weeks have been difficult…in many ways. Husband’s condition has been worse, varying from worse to worser. Some days he is nearly a zombie, no speech, little movement, and little interest in surroundings. Getting to the toilet or bed from the wheelchair requiring a gait belt transfer with much difficulty. Other days like yesterday start off fairly well.
We are (I am) finishing a “sun room” addition added on last spring to accommodate an elevator wheelchair lift. The lift was installed this past April and is used every day, sometimes two or three times a day. He has not been able to use the stair glide for nearly a year. We waited more than 6 months for this elevator because we used assistance from our County Area Agency on Aging. The construction was put on hold until the elevator was installed so the contractor would know where to install the entry door. The room is now able to be finished inside, paint, trim, flooring, etc.
I know a little about working wood from building fancy doll houses years ago, so I was able to put up the window, door, and baseboard molding. Some of it was tricky because the addition was made to fit under the front porch roof so there is not a standard room height or door height. Everything is shorter 6-12”. Anyway, the trim came out looking pretty good. The painting is now complete.
The vinyl flooring is next. The unfinished plywood floor is nailed or screwed to the support joists. The edges of the plywood are not level to each other and there are dimples or holes from the screw holes that will show through the vinyl. These need to be filled so the vinyl will lay flat. This part of the project was put off until the walls and trims were painted.
Husband wants to help - Husband insisted he would do this part of the project, using wood putty and a putty knife. It meant he would have to bend over while sitting in his wheelchair to reach the floor to apply this putty. He could not reach the floor. He wanted to get onto the floor so he could do it. No matter what I said I could not convince him he could not do this.
Getting him off the floor…If anyone had seen him they would have asked if he fell. No, I put him down on the floor, dropping him onto his knees onto a foam cushion. He insisted he could do this. I knew better. He landed on his knees, sort of. Then slid onto his side and lay straddling the cushion. I went to get a pillow for his head. I got him into a reclining position, which, because of the small size of this room, could not have been too comfortable.
He wanted to sit up…impossible. He could not stand to get out of bed without assistance; no way could he sit unsupported on the floor, legs out straight. If we did not have the pneumatic sling lift I would not have given in so easily. I’ve used it before for the same purpose, getting him off the floor when he would not hear otherwise.
I told him to lay there for a while to get his breath and gather his strength to get up. He lay for about 2 hours watching me while I continued to work around him on the sun room. Finally he wanted to get up.
Rolling him from side to side, I was able to get the sling under him and get him lifted enough to get him away from the walls. Fortunately this room was made to be ADA compliant for size so I was able to maneuver the lift so that I could get his wheelchair under him again. I should mention husband weighs about 110 lbs.
Once in his wheelchair he sat and watched as I got down on my butt on top of a cushion and scooted myself across the floor to fill the holes. It took about an hour to fill the gaps and holes, moving his wheelchair from one side of the room to the other as I moved across the floor.
Comical? I thought of taking a picture of him on the floor to show him and his daughter later. I did not. I don’t think he would not have seen the humor in it. I give him credit for trying!

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