its getting worse...

[zuzanka2]

Dear all, simple question , how do you get to wash/shower your love ones? my mum really struggels to move my dad around.... he is getting less and less mobile, even standing becomes a problem.

[nanonthenet1]

Hi zuzank2, this is something I am finding increasing hard, we have found that having a special seat that is placed in the bath along with grab rails is easier than risking falling in the shower, the seat sits level to the top of the bath and hubby can just sit and lift his legs in, I shower, get a bit wet at times , but if feels safer somehow, hope it helps xx

[zjillian]

There are lots of bathroom aides that you can use..Chairs that help you slide the person into the shower , grab bars, etc. In Costa Rica a public health nurse will come and show you how to do it and what to use. It is difficult to not end up totally wet with a bad back and a screaming care-givee. But it is worth a good consultation with someone who can show your mother how to do this without injuring herself. It is also great to get help with showering because of the difficulty with falls etc. We have all sorts of grab bars in the bathroom and usually either my helper helps or I get into the shower with my husband and scream a lot of commands. Also a trip to either a pharmacy or hospital supply store can help show you the possible aides. Also it is really really really easy to end up injured or injuring your spouse. Bathrooms are dangerous places for falls and wet floors or towels make it even worse.

Jill

[peterjones]

\hi susanka2 with great difficulty that's the simple answer

no I was only joking and I know its no joke I tried having carers in \ I did not like it and they seemed to dry you off and shower you with a lick and a promise but it did save my wife trying to lift me around as I am getting quite big from lack of exercise now but that's the way to go for your mother just in case she hurts herself trying to lift him and that will be no good for the two of them

so take care and get someone in to help her with the heavy stuff

see yer peter jones queensland Australia psp sufferrer

[Opope]

Where do you live.

In the UK there are so many aids available to assist with bathing. If you have a bath as mentioned before there is a battery powered seat which can be lowered into the bath, we had this for mum when she was still able to get around. Social services and the council can help with adaptions I.e wet room (which will involve you getting wet).

Do you have a hoist u may want to start thinking about getting one.

Good luck

[formercarer]

We converted the garage to a wet room shower room, and got a paperless washer / dryer loo called a clos-o-mat. This made the whole ablutions situation very much better for all concerned. After using the loo, I would transfer her to a shower chair (all plastic, with hole in the seat) and wheel her to the shower area. This set-up was a god-send, we were (despite my best efforts!) sometimes 5 seconds too late in getting positioned onto the loo, & the long shower lead & wet-room made the clean-ups relatively easy and straightforward. Before the garage conversion we had a bath lift which was provided by the Council, it was horribly difficult for me to position mum onto it, and was also unsatisfactory as you couldn't manage to clean her bottom. The Clos-o-mat (we got a Palma Vita) should have cost more than £3,000 but they sold us a re-conditioned one & I think we paid less than £1000 Quite a lot of money, but I promise you, that wet room and paperless washer / drying loo (Warm water & air) improved my life and mums, immeasurably.

[Hidden]

It is an issue I am at the moment also addressing because at some point my wife will no longer be able to bear her weight and it is then that the real problem kicks in.

Most people do not have a level access shower. So the first question is do you have a bathroom that can be converted into a wet room. And it should be preferably on the ground floor.

The second question is do you have a bedroom on the ground floor that can take a hospital bed. Once someone is no longer able to bear weight, it is no longer an option to have her or him in a normal bed.

Have you registered for palliative care with the Arthur Rank Hospice? If you have, they will make the necessary arrangements and the OT will come and look at the situation.

If a level access shower is not possible, then a proper hygiene regime can still be achieved by washing and cleaning whilst the patient is in a hospital bed.

Most likely you will then also need a hoist if you still want to transfer the patient from the bed into the shower or the living room.

Also if you have not done so already, you should make sure that the patient is registered for NHS CHC (=Continuing Health Care).

As far as timing is concerned, the issue of a wet room you need to investigate now because the conversion will take time.

As far as the hospital bed is concerned, this can be done fairly quickly. Important to realise is that prior to the selection of a hospital bed an assessment has to be made by a clinical specialist nurse. And again you can already arrange a meeting now so that when the time comes she can come around immediately.

Finally, if you have not yet an ICER card, which is a carers emergency system, then you should apply for it. This is normally being done by arranging for a carer's assessment. Basically what it means is that in a case of an emergency the carer finds herself / himself in, a telephone call will activate this system and immediately help will be made available for 48 hours, if needed 24 hours per day. After that they have the obligation to establish on-going assistance to deal with the situation.

Have also a look at the following website regarding shower wheel chairs with a commode that can be used when transferring the patient from bed into a level access shower.

amazon.co.uk/Wheeled-Commod...

I wish you strength with this matter. Important is that you think always two steps ahead and have a plan B or plan C ready to activate when the time comes.

[Yvonneandgeorge]

Hi there you can get from the OT it is like and wheel chair but it is plastic you can wheel it in and out of the wet room hope that is useful have a good week end Yvonne xcxx

[jimandsharynp]

You can use a Hoyer Lift to move a patient from any location to another location without using your back to lift them. You can even put them in a shower or tub with the lift. You can move them from location to location using the Hoyer. Fantastic tool. We had one supplied by Hospice. When my wife fell it was easy to get her up and into a chair or bed using the Hoyer Lift. Jimbo

[zuzanka2 in reply to jimandsharynp]

Thank you