Mechanical Lift to move a patient

We have a Hoyer manual lift 6 years, since 2006. It is rented from a medical supply house through Medicare, and AARP picks up the difference. At the time we received it Husband was recently out of the hospital from dehydration.  He was very weak.  I used it a few times in those 6 years, but it was more for a secure feeling knowing I could move him if I needed to with no one else to help.

In 6 years I have used it to get him off the floor a few times as I have told in other blogs. I started using it regularly about 3 months ago to put him into bed.  I had been transferring him using the gait belt, but his legs were no longer able to bear weight and a few times we both nearly wound up on the floor. Using it those few times in the past was good practice for now when I really need it every day.

In the last few weeks I use this lift to get him out of bed and into the wheelchair for breakfast at the dining table. I use the Skid Seat to pull him back into the wheelchair. Then from the wheelchair into the recliner where I then use the Bed Sled to pull him into position in the recliner. This is why I make these products, I use them myself.

Later in the day I use the lift to get him out of the recliner to the toilet, with a side trip to the bedroom to remove his brief and loosen his pants. Back into the lift and to the toilet where we maneuver the lift around the toilet getting him positioned over the seat and lowered into position. Our bathroom is not large and there are grab bars installed wherever they were needed. (The bars serve little purpose now). To remove the sling and get him released from the lift means climbing into the bathtub.

Tight Bathroom

Once lowered onto the seat Husband uses the the horizontal bars on the lift to hold himself forward and keep from leaning.  The legs of the lift reach the wall behind the toilet keeping it from moving back any further and makes it pretty stable for him to hold on to.
While he holds onto the bars I am able to assist him and hook up the sling again when finished and ready to get up. Then back to the bed to put on a fresh brief and his pants.  Depending on the time of day he may return to the recliner or sit in the wheelchair waiting for bedtime.
I am so glad this lift is here.

This blog offers 2 suggestions:

1. 1. Have a lift in house BEFORE you need it if possible. This will give you time to get comfortable with its operation. The few times you use it before conditions worsen will get you familiar with its limits for working room, how tight a space you can work in.
2. When using the lift on bare legs, like after using the toilet when pants have been removed, place cloth ( a washcloth will do) under the patient's legs where the sling will be wrapped to prevent the sling from irritating and cutting the skin. I try to keep Husbands pants on his lower legs while on the toilet. Then I pull them up over his thighs enough to allow the sling to go under the cloth.  It is clumsy but more comfortable than having the sling in contact with the skin.

Getting Out of Bed is More Difficult

My helpers are here Monday through Friday, so Saturday and Sunday I am on my own.

This being Saturday, I had no help to get husband out of bed.  He wanted to get out of be right away, not waiting for his pills to kick in. The last few days I have needed help to get him up and into his wheelchair. This morning I am on my own.  

This morning he seemed strong enough to help himself a little.  I use his ability to grasp and hold his assisting bars to determine how much strength he has. I got him sitting on the edge of the bed holding onto his support bars.  From this position, on days when he is able, I shift his body sideways onto his wheelchair and  he uses his legs to raise  himself to clear the side arm of the wheelchair. I tried to get him to his chair like I normally do when he has some strength to stand.  I got his tail bone to the chair with him still hanging on to his bars.  I could not get him to stand nor could I leave him alone at the front of the chair while I went around back to try t pull him in. So I tried to push with my knees against his, but he was not able to hold himself up any longer and started to slide to the floor.  I told him to let himself down easy as I pulled the wheelchair out and away from him.  When his tail was on the floor I pulled the chair out the rest of the way and lowered his head to the floor onto a pillow.  

Fortunately I have had to get him off the floor on a few occasions so I knew how to use the Hoyer lift ( a mechanical lifting device) to get him up. I got the sling under him and jacked him up. I jacked him high enough to get his wheelchair under him and lowered him into the chair. We went the dining room table for breakfast.  His pills kicked in about 30 minutes after he was into his wheelchair.  Some days it can take an hour or more for the pills to start working. And sometimes they don’t seem to work at all.   He has been taking these same pills for 14 years. We were told in the beginning that the pills will lose their effectiveness after about 8 years.  So I guess we’re lucky they still work for him.  When they work.

corner filed off so Hoyer can get in

I have been wondering how soon I would be needing the Hoyer to get him out of bed.  I guess it’s pretty soon. I have been using the Hoyer to put him to bed for about a year. And the last 2 weeks I am using it to get him onto the toilet during the day then back into a wheelchair for the remaining hours until bed. Maneuvering in our tight bathroom is the hardest part.  I recently sanded off the corner of the sink cabinet to allow the wheels of the Hoyer to get in alongside the toilet. It helps but it’s still tight. 

He’s reading now. I have the air conditioner on. The cats are running around because it is cool enough to be active. (when it’s too warm they sleep)  I hope he doesn’t decide to go to the shop to do wood working.  Although I might be a good change for me to work at something other than sewing or getting votes for the grant.

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!

Parkinson's Care - The Disease, The Reality

Parkinson's Disease breaks down communication of the brain to the nerve endings that control movement. There is a more technical description, but that's the gist of it. Untreated Parkinson's can be like total paralysis. Even with Parkinson's care, the patient can have symptoms like freezing in place, or not being able to swallow or speak. Not every Parkinson's patient has the same symptoms. We have been to Parkinson's support groups where each participant had none, some, or little outward symptoms of this disease. My husband was often the only wheelchair patient.

My husband's Parkinson's Disease was diagnosed in 1998. For the first 4-5 years you would not know to look at him that he was anything but fit. Since then, as the disease progresses, his symptoms are moderate to severe, changing from day to day. In late 2006 he developed problems swallowing. He could not swallow water or applesauce and therefore could not swallow his pills. He could not swallow the pills that would allow him to swallow. It was a continuing downward spiral. I started looking at cemetery plots.

He wound up in the hospital for 5 days on intravenous fluids to rehydrate him. Once stabilized, they sent him home with a feeding tube installed because he still could not swallow food or water. His pills were administered through the feeding tube for a few days. Finally some of his muscle control returned and he was able to take his pills again. Soon he was able to swallow liquids and within 2 weeks he was eating solid food again. Not steak mind you, but hamburger or soft meats. His feeding tube was removed eight weeks later.

After that he began taking his Parkinson's care more seriously, taking his medications somewhat on schedule. He was able to get around much better, not walking but able to assist in moving himself. He always had a poor attitude about the disease. Depression was making him miserable. I finally spoke to his doctor about his depression and a low dosage of anti-depressant was prescribed. My husband HATES pills. It was hard enough time to get him to take the previously prescribed medications, how would I get him to take this new, additional pill?

Fortunately, or not, depending on the agenda for that day, husband was staying in bed longer in the AM. I started giving him his first Parkinson's illness medications around 6 am before he got out of bed so that if he slept in, he would not have missed his first dosage of meds. With this system in place I was able to "hide" this new pill with the others and he never found out. Still doesn't know. If he knew what it was for he would not take it. It has made a wonderful difference. He does not speak so often of doing himself in, he's much more pleasant, and he's more tolerant of taking his other pills throughout the rest of the day. He still has depressing days when mobility of any sort is nearly impossible, but we get through it.

He recently coined a new phrase "I have to carry my own casket", used when he does not receive the assistance he expects (and needs) but I am not physically able to offer him. He must participate in transferring himself from the bed to the wheelchair, from the wheelchair to the toilet, or to the stair glide, or to step out the front door to get onto his scooter. He only weighs about 145 lb. but I am not strong enough to lift him. Without his participation he is dead weight. At those times I agree with him, "Yes, you have to carry our own casket because you're too heavy for me to carry it alone. " The strength and patience come from somewhere because we do eventually get him moved.

Please visit my web site www.caregiversaide.com to see my Patent Pending Skid Seat(R)used to help reposition into a wheelchair, my Bed Sled, a reusable bed pad with handles, and related items you may find useful in caring for your loved one. Thank you.