My daughter is a nursing home consultant. I asked her about the w/c problems some of you have been having. She feels that a strap restraint around the ankles is a bad fall waiting to happen if they try to stand up. A better solution is to be sure that the leg extenders are long enough so knees don't have to be bent to fit the chair. The chair should fit the person not the other way around. Hope this helps. bluedaze
i always used the seat belt around the waist if i strapped him in -that way he couldnt get up-that was the whole point while he is riding getting him used to staying seated in the chair. that surely would be a problem without the seat belt over the lap in place.
Well and also the way we would use it we would be right there to make sure they did not even try to stand. It would not be like someone sitting a the chair all the time.
Yesterday we went to best buy to get a new plasma for my sons office and we had to take DH along,--" uh-oh"-all ready worrying about him freaking out. well we got the trusty wheelchair out strapped him in and my granddaughter 6yrs old pushed my DH all over the store and he rode around smiling and holding her huge teddybear in his lap. she would find me on the next isle to report how he was doing...awww..i saw some folks stop and tell her what a good job she was doing..he did just fine in the wheelchair, and we were there close to an hour, so yes the wheelchair works wonders thank goodness!..Divvi
My husband is no where near ready for a wheelchair, but he is going downhill so fast. Where did you'all get your wheelchairs? Were they covered by insurance or did you just go out there and buy one. My own experience with walkers was that I could have bought much better ones for a lot less money and gotten them when I needed them if I had just gone out and bought one. I've seen the prices at the medical supply place that has rented a "store" at Wal-Mart. Their prices are good and the quality looks good too.
I never applied for anything so far thru medicare. even when i was testing his sugar levels while on seroquel i just got it at the pharmacy. never thought to ask!i just bought our wheelchair for about 190dol out of pocket too. its lightweight and swivels easily. my son saw how DH rode in it with the 6yr old pushing him and he said, mom thats the 'best buy' so far." divvi
I got ours - it's called a "transport chair" at the local RiteAid pharmacy. It was well under $100. But: in our area the Shriners maintain a warehouse which collects and distributes for free all kinds of medical equipment. I wouldn't have known about it except that our next door neighbor, a past grand master, happens to be the manager of the warehouse. I don't quite know how you'd go about contacting them in your area, but it's worth it if you can find them. They have all kinds of stuff like walkers - I just got a toilet booster seat which seems to be working well (today).
What kind of toilet booster seat did you get? I need to get something to make it easier to get my husband to sit on the toilet. He has trouble finding the center and sitting down on it. I see some that have hand rails attached; are they any good?
When I was partially disabled I seriously thought about those handles. Because the bathrooms in the house we lived in at that time were so small, it was possible to use the sink as a "handle" when I was sitting down or getting up.
My husband is not at that stage, but based on my own experience I still need to know where any chair or seat is before I will sit down on it. I wouldn't be surprised if that is true for the more advanced stages of AD as well.
Try this - copy and paste this link from my Amazon store. There are a group of different types of booster toilet seats with and without handles. http://astore.amazon.com/wwwthealzheim-20/search/103-3766747-6085409?node=3&keywords=toilet+seats&preview=
This is a link to a specific seat similar to what you are describing, I think - http://astore.amazon.com/wwwthealzheim-20/detail/B0007VNZTK/103-3766747-6085409
There was a time about 8 years ago, when I had a severe reaction to a medication, which resulted in debilitating joint pain for 2 years, and I could have used one of these.
When we bought our new home I insisted on handicaped toilets. We already had them in our California home because we remodeled both bathrooms. Not only do they flush better than regular toilets with limited amounts of water, but because I was partially handicaped at the time, it made transferring from a walker (or cane) to the toilet a whole lot easier.
Yes, changing a toilet is not cheap, but it isn't all that expensive either. And, as my husband discovered, back when he was the healthy one, it makes life easier even for healthy people. My daughter actually got the higher toilets for both of the bathrooms in her house when she replaced them and not just for me.
I'd replace the toilet before I got an elevated toilet seat if it was at all possible. Personally, I wouldn't trust them to be steady.
Dr. Leonards catalog (they are online too) sells a frame you can put around a toilet that has arms. I've bought stuff from them for years. They have a weird catalog and some of the stuff is weird too, but they are good people to do business with. They send the stuff you order in a timely manner, send you email notices that things have shipped if you order online, and let you know if something is going to be delayed just the way the law tells them they should (with a post card). And their stuff tends to be reasonably priced.
I have two boosters for the two toilets my Dh uses. again, hate to not be positive but he didnt like it either and they were the ones with rails. yes he could getup better with the rails but if it slightly moved at all he was not happy. my mom has the handicap toilets the real high ones and this is what i recomend as he has absolutely no issues using this kind. i need to get one installed in our back bath soon as well. my booster seat is down in the basement at this point. divvi seems like anything can become an issue with the AD person, streams of warm water, any little movement, dark rugs, mirrors, and on and on.. divvi
amen to that divvi, I also have the handicap raised toilet seat. I was fortunate enough to have a plumber suggest that to me when we had to replace our old one. Little did I know how much I would need it. Mirrors, you said it. I had covered the bathroom mirrors three years ago because I noticed he became agitated as though he thought someone was in the bathroom with us. I thought to myself I will now take them down, this was about 3 weeks ago, at first I did not think he noticed, then all of a sudden he would hold on to the door and not allow me to take him in the bathroom, I could not figure it out, then I wondered was it because of the mirrors so I re covered them and bingo, it worked. I will never ever in all my life figure this disease out and hope I never ever have to again.
Also I had posted this before but never saw it on the board, maybe in my senior moment I forget to send it LOL. Anyway, once you do apply for a Wheel Chair through Medicare they will not pay for another for 5 years, not even Power one.. I purchased our wheel chair through a medical Supply house for $225.00 but am glad I did not go through Medicare, when you do request one through Medicare wait until you qualify for the Power chair because it is the last one they will pay for until 5 years is over. Mine weighs only 9 lbs and I am going to start to get to use it thanks to this board.
Jane, thank you once again. When the time comes I'll pay for the cheap chair on my own just in case we need to expensive one later on.
This is literally the only place you can get this kind of information. And because it is coming in small chunks I am finding it much easier to pay attention and remember.
this is the one we have. It actually sits more firmly on the toilet than the current toilet seat we have, so he's beginning to accept it. Today.
I came across a note I'd made about a little girl I encountered. I knew it was her birthday. How old are you, Willow? I asked. I'm four today, she said. But I don't know how old I'll be tomorrow...
That's the way we are. This works today, but we don't know about tomorrow.