VA is hoping to provide us with an electric Stand Aid. The wheels and base are similar to a Hoyer Lift. They are concerned that I will be unable to use it on carpet . The carpet me hAve is rather thick, but I would be willing to go to a thinner one . I also thought of using a type of thick plastic mat that is often used for office chairs glide easier.
Any ideas .
Would the stand aid be used for transporting/transfers around the house? Dad got a hoyer lift thru the VA and we used it to transport from bed to recliner chair and back, also to wheelchair if needed. We never used it to do bathroom issues since it would not fit.
The VA here wanted any large medical equipment back that was NOT permanently installed, we had a stair chair from the VA too that stayed when dad went into a nursing home.
Ron
It will be used just for transfer in the house . Dan is totally incontinent, so he does not use a bathroom.
He is not a disabled veteran but is being helped through a program for catastrophically disAbled veterans. I hope I can continue to care for him as residential care is so exspensive and he would not qualify for Medicaid.
Dad is not a disabled vet either, just a vet who is disabled. Depending on his years of service he may qualify for Aid and Attendance benefit or possibly the in home, Home Based Primary Care program. VA docs and staff will come to the house. There is another program where the vet receives a stipend to pay for in home care, used to be called Veterans Independence Program, named has changed now and I don't remember it. Ask the social worker if he would qualify for any of these.
Good luck.
Ron
Hi Karyn, first of all my heart goes out to you in your need to consider these options. I’m too familiar. This was exactly my dilemma just a month ago. An equipment rep brought a power sit-to-stand to our house to see if it would work for us, but the carpet made it impossible for me to move the unit even by itself, let alone with Jerry standing on it. We then made the decision to tear out the carpet in our bedroom and the sunroom where Jerry spends his days in a power recliner. We’re putting in a hard floor so the lift equipment (including a hoist) is possible to use. We did think about the office chair type material to cover the floor, but couldn’t quite figure out how to deal with all of the problems the equipment rep said would happen with that. That said, we didn’t actually try it.
Wish I had a better solution to offer. Replacing floors is very expensive. Plus, I’ll need to relocate Jerry and his hospital bed to another room while the work is being done - about 3 days if all goes well. It’s the only way we can keep him home at this point.
We needed the floors and equipment “yesterday” if you know what I mean. He is losing strength almost daily and I’m unable to help him transfer from his chair or bed anymore without help. And help, we are finding, is unreliable. Our evening aid canceled last night 15 minutes before she was to be here. So a family member had to drive a distance to help us.
Thanks. Now I am questioning hard wood . Did they reccommend any specific type of thickness of wood. I have heard stories of the wood being gouged and scratched. Where did you go to purchase it. The work involved and help needed to complete this project is overwhelming. Also purchasing is difficult as my time away from home is limited and must be short. Thanks so much. I too am dependent on help to transfer. We’ve been able to work it out, but I notice emotions running thin.
I remember reading about the difficulty of this part of the journey, but until you’re “here” there is no way to comprehend it.
I decided not to install the same hardwood floor we now have in other places in the house for the reasons you mentioned and the ridiculous expense of it. Instead, we are going with a product called Coretec. I was going to include a photo of the info on it for you, but couldn’t see how to do that. It’s a “floating floor,” meaning it doesn’t need to be glued down. It comes in interlocking 12” pieces. Two people I know who have it in their homes say it’s extremely durable and super easy to clean. It will also be easy to remove someday, much easier than a glue-down floor.
I think many flooring stores will also do installation, including tearing out and disposing of the old flooring, however I also know how hard it is to find time and energy to even go looking. “Overwhelmed” is a good word for how I feel much of the time...
I just looked up Coretec , It is available at the store I will be going to. Thanks , I’ll look at it . It looks like a great idea.
Oh good! I hope your floor shopping is easy and you find the help you need there. So glad you have a window of time to do that. Let’s stay in touch about our floor projects. 😊
Oh Heidi-Ann, how are you keeping your level-headedness? This seems to be happening way too fast 
(PS: ..to be transparent: I listen to you on the monthly CBD calls with Kary..) I wish I was there to help you. Big Hugs..XXXX
Anne G.
Dear Anne, Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I am not feeling level-headed at all most days! I wish you were here to give me a big hug, too!
It’s fun to know that we’re part of the same online group. I’ll listen for you next month! 😊
Thank you. Some mornings I feel fearless , capable and in charge . Others, I feel I just can’t manage it all.
I will look it up. I’m going to a flooring store Monday . It is a rather expensive store, but we know the owner and trust he will be fair and honest. I cannot shop around.
Have a great weekend.
Karyn
I have no advice Karyn, only sympathy and genuine interest: My hubby doesn't need a lift yet, but it is surely coming. I will follow this post with interest, and send you my sincere hugs for making it through this "part" of the journey. I understand exactly what Heidi-Ann is saying, even though it's still on the horizon for me.
Peace, strength, faith, good luck with the arrangements, and appreciation of what a phenomenally good wife you are. XXX
Anne G.
At the beginning of the PSP disease, the county assistance service for dependent patients with mobility difficulties recommended us to remove all the individual carpets and replace them with a flat and continuous floor: wood, stone or carpet.
Hoping to be useful.
Thanks for starting this thread. We recently went through this decision but with a little different situation. Mom is in a care facility and they have that low nap tile carpeting (the square kind that can be replaced one square at a time if need be as opposed to having to replace the entire floor). So, the floor material wasn't an issue. The issue was that mom preferred the sit-to-stand (not sure of real name -- but that's what they called it at the facility) but she has a hoyer that was prescribed to her after her broken ankle (which has fully repaired -- that was 6 months back). She really hates the hoyer lift -- she doesn't like how unsupported her neck/head feels (but I think this may just be something in her mind because it is fully supported from what I can see). I think the real issue might be that mom still believes she will walk again someday (if the right aids would just help her! (she says this over and over)), and the sit-to-stand is that much closer to standing on her own than using the hoyer.
She was not approved at the facility to move to the sit-to-stand because she needs to be able to stand for at least 3-5 minutes on her own (according to staff) with the equipment and she is only able to manage about 1 minute. (Of course -- it isn't lost on me that without her standing/exercising - she is going to go in the wrong direction in terms of having the muscle strength to use the equipment).
So I think her preference is based on still very strong desire to have some control over what is happening to her body -- to be able to stand -- even if assisted is a step above the hoyer which required nothing from her (but also probably emphasizes her helplessness to her).
With mom, it has always been as much about the psychology process as it has been the physical.
Thanks For your reply, Dan is not able to stand at all alone. He is a two person transfer without any equipment. He has rigidity in his right side, making it difficult to use his right leg. Some days he is able to bare weight, but here and there his legs buckle .
After coming home from a recent hospital stay, he has had a set back and received a few weeks physical therapy. They felt a stand Aid may help his legs from deteriorating so quickly. She suggested we try to get him to stand in it a minute before we turn and sit him. They feel that barring weight on his legs is good for the muscle.
Good luck to you and your mom. She sounds like a strong independent lady.
To convene or not to convene???
Not knowing how to stand.
Donepezil as an aid for PSP
attempting to stand
