My DH is now having a problem just lifting himself off of the commode and the recliner. I was looking at Geri chairs but they don't seem to "lift" the person. Then I saw one lift from the seat cushion while the others lift and tilt the whole chair. I would like your experience with these so I can make a good decision on which one to purchase. Thanks all.
For my parents, we had the electric chair that lifted the chair so that the person was nearly standing up. After my dad lost both is legs to diabetes, we took that out and he had a normal recliner..the risk then was that he would try to stand up on leg he had no longer..
If the person is small, as my dad became, we then even had to switch out that recliner for a ladies recliner..so keep his size in the mix when selecting the type of chair.
The best type of chair for what you are describing is probably the lift recliner. It looks like a regular recliner, but with the push of a button on the remote control, it can recline with the foot rest up, and then come down, and lift the seat up, so the person doesn't have to put pressure on his legs to get up. I have one in the garage that was my MIL's; my father has one; and I bought one for Sid after he broke his foot. I have included a link to where we bought my father's and Sid's. My father's is cloth; Sid's is leather. If you have a prescription from the doctor, Medicare will pay for PART of the chair - the mechanism part. Since the chairs run between $600 and $1000 or more, Medicare pays about $300.
We have a community (60 mile radius) bulletin board listing things for sale. It comes out once a week and every week there are lift chairs and other Home Medical supplies listed for sale. I bought Paul's lift chair for $300. It is cloth and looks like new. It is the type Joan described. Paul used it about 2 months. I am keeping it as an extra chair in a bedroom.
You may want to bring your spouse to try one out. I bought a pratically new one off craigslist for excellent price. It was the kind that lifts entire recliner to standing. Turns out, tho, my dh couldnt figure out the remote. so...it's a really nice recliner and he sits in it all the time, but we unplugged all power to it. When i was trying to teach him the functions early on, he was in recline position and didn't know how to get back to regular, so he was trying to "crawl out" of this fully reclined chair. Rather comical. Remotes and all those gadgets are just beyond him and i dont want him "trapped" again. Great chair tho and very comfy in regular position.
sheltifan, that is indeed a problem. When I used it myself, I experienced the helplessness of being "stuck" in a reclining position. I think if you use one of these for your spouse you should stay near to help them get back up. You cannot get out of it without using the control, when in a reclining position. My dh was able to use the control. He could not use the phone or the TV remote but he soon learned the control for the chair.
My dh needs help with his recliner so I think the lift chair would be the same. Found out we have to go to PT in order to have them evaluate dh. This is an HMO. Medicare only pays for the motor. The chairs can run $1000.