As you know I brought my husband home from the ALF 2 weeks ago. He was doing really well, however, he has started having trouble walking. He wants sit where there is no chair or just misses the chair & ends up on the floor. Is there some sort of belt or something that can help me lift him off the floor? He can only help with one hand if he will even do that. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Kadee There are lift belts you can buy, but they are designed to control a fall. You hang on to the belt and if your loved one starts to fall, you hang on and help make it a more controlled fall, hopefully to avoid injury.
Once on the floor, the belt will not help them stand. I had to resort to neighbors and as a VERY last resort, 911 has helped me pick him up.
Kadee, I don't think lift belts could help you get him up from the floor. Being "too experienced" in this situation, I never found anything that would get my DH off the floor. He was dead weight and his brain couldn't process the "help me get you up" instructions. It was as if he was a 178 pound 6 week old. If I sat him up, and then went around to the other side to try to lift him, he'd just roll back down on the floor, frontward, backward or sideways. Once or twice, I found that if I just made him comfortable and waited 10 or 15 minutes, the thing that caused the fall would have passed and he could help me get him up. HOWEVER, that being said, I called 911 many times and my neighbors if they were home.
But lift belts?? No, they just help steady them (or rather, YOU DO, by holding tight when he walks.. and it will help you lower him down easier than if you were just trying to 'catch him'.
Thank you for responding to my post. My neighbor is great about helping me, but, I just hate asking. Even though they always tell me whenever I need help to call.
kadee you may need to resort using the wheelchair to move him around, if hes missing chairs and wanting to sit when standing. trying to avoid falls at this point is crucial. divvi
Kadee, My DH started doing that about a year ago (sitting whether or not a chair was there). That was when we determined he needed full time care giving. A fall risk. We had to follow him around with a chair at all times. Eventually we began using a wheelchair full time. We keep a gate belt on him at all times. This helps prevent falling but is not much help picking him up after a fall. That requires two people, each hooking an elbow under his armpits and lifting. So much we have learned by trial and error. At this point he rarely steps away from the wheelchair, just stands up and sits down over and over.
I use the Gait belt constantly. As others have said, it can't be used easily from the floor, but to aid in lifting from a chair or sofa it works just fine...at least in our case. Our caregivers use it all day long as do I. One needs to be careful to use your body (legs) not your back in order to not end up with a large ouch.
I also used the Gait Belt frequently. I could use the Gait Belt, when he could lend some assistance, to help him to a chair and give him a boost up. Even with a son in law helping we used it more than once to get him to the bed from the floor. My dh weighted about 160#. I actually had 2 in different lengths. I used one to support my mother in her wheelchair and also with lifting her from wheelchair to feet to bed. You do need to brace yourself like kathi37 mentioned - to use your legs instead of your back.
Kadee, That is exactly what my husband did and I kept trying to keep him walking, that was a mistake, if I had kept on letting him walk we would have had a fall that would give him a broken hip. It is time for the wheel chair no matter how much you dislike the idea. A wheel chair is better than a broken leg, or hip or whatever, it is the lesser of two evils.
We use one too. Our CNA Andrew doesn't need it but when my daughter and I do the evening diaper change we need it. The two of us can get him up if he doesn't grab us with his Death Grip. One person alone is a recipe for back sprains. Try to find a neighbor high school kid who can come and help for $5 or so.