The Benefits of a Transport Chair
When my mother first began to need a wheelchair, I was more than a little frustrated! Prior to being released from the nursing home, she was issued a standard medicare funded wheelchair.
Once I got her into my car (not an easy task), I took the wheelchair around to the back of my car and tried to put the chair into the trunk of my car. That’s when things got really rough!
- I had a difficult time lifting the chair high enough to get it into the trunk (It weighs a ton!).
- Once I did get it into the trunk, I struggled to maneuver it around in the trunk so that I could get the lid of the trunk closed.
Not long after this “incident,” I learned about transport chairs. I ran out and purchased one a.s.a.p. and it has been a lifesaver!!
The many benefits of the transport chair far outweigh the cons. Some of the many benefits are as follows:
- The chair is fairly lightweight. I am only 5’2″ and weigh about 120 pounds. I find the chair easy to maneuver and easy to lift. They are under 25 pounds.
- It fits in the trunk of my car (Chrysler Sebring) without any problems. An elderly couple I met awhile back said that they keep theirs on the floor of the back seat of their Chevrolet Cavalier.
- They come in some nice colors – - more than just the “chrome” of standard wheelchairs.
- They are fairly comfortable. I have not sat in my Mom’s for an extended period of time but she has said that it isn’t bad.
As is the case with most everything, there are a few downsides to these chairs.
- Medicare does not cover the cost of transport chairs. They see them as a benefit for the caregiver, not the patient. I beg to differ….. Regardless, I found the approximately $100 pricetag well worth the money.
- Because the wheels are considerably smaller than those of a standard wheelchair, the patient is unable to move themselves around in the chair. Users will need the help of a responsible adult to push them in the chair.
- The wheels on these chairs are not as tough as those on standard wheelchairs. Wheels on transport chairs wear out more quickly if they are used daily and/or on uneven surfaces such, as gravel.
Please keep in mind, these chairs are meant for short trips. They are not meant to replace the use of a standard wheelchair.
I purchased my Mom’s from a local medical supply company. However, they are available online at Amazon.
A Tree of Her Own: Hints for Assisted Living
krisdecurtis on Flickr
My mother has been in assisted living for the past few years. Keeping her place homey and safe without appearing cluttered has been a challenge.
The facility she lives in is beautiful and they do a lovely job decorating for the holidays. However, it just wouldn’t be Christmas for my Mom if she didn’t have her own tree. Over her lifetime, she put a great deal of care into collecting Christmas ornaments that meant something to her and to our family. She purchased ornaments on vacations. She purchased ornaments that represented our favorite things: sailboats, skiing, ice skating, lighthouses, dogs, etc. She saved ornaments that had adorned the trees of my grandparents. She even saved the silly ornaments I made with coffee can tops and sequins in kindergarten.
So, simply enjoying the tree in the lobby of her assisted living facility was not an option. I decided that I would decorate her room myself and then store the decorations in my home to keep her place from becoming too cluttered the rest of the year.
Decorating in her room has become much easier with my now fine-tuned, well-organized approach. I have purchased decorations that are easy to store at my home and are easy to transport to/from my Mom’s place.
Here are a few utilitarian and beautiful items that have made Christmas decorating a breeze! There are frequently some great cost-savings by purchasing holidays items “off-season.”
Four Foot Pre-lit Christmas Tree: I chose a four foot artificial tree. It is a large enough tree for her to display her favorite ornaments. It is small enough that it doesn’t take up all that much space in her room. It is also small enough that it fits inside the trunk of my car without a struggle. Purchasing the pre-lit version kept me from having to struggle with detangling lights each year.
Snapware Three-tier Christmas ornament boxes: The three-tiered Snapware boxes are great because they allow me to transport her ornaments in just a couple of boxes. The fewer trips to/from the car the better! The boxes have sturdy handles on the top that make them easy to carry, even when wearing my mittens. The clear plastic makes it easy for me to determine which boxes were my Mom’s and which ones were mine in my basement.
Bubble Wrap: I take a fresh roll of bubble wrap with me when I pack the ornaments up each year. It ensures that I am using wrap that is in good condition to prevent the ornaments from breaking in transport to/from my home.
Packaging Tape: Clear packaging tape is great for securing bubble wrap around fragile ornaments. It stays well secured all year long. You might even want to label the ornament under the clear tape if you want to be able to identify ornaments before unwrapping them.
Artificial Christmas Tree bag: The box that the tree came in eventually ripped making it difficult to close and to transport. The Christmas tree bag made transporting the tree much easier. It also keeps it clean throughout the year.
Extension Cord: You may need an extension cord if there isn’t an electrical outlet close to where the tree will be placed.
Live Wreath. Over the past few years, I have purchased live evergreen wreaths from the boy scouts for my Mom. It has scented her room with the smell of evergreen without the mess and challenge of bringing a live tree into her space.
Here is a list of links to where you can purchase the recommendations found above:
Note: the links take you to Amazon. I cannot guarantee that the suppliers who are now selling the products on Amazon are those that I purchased from.
Medicare 101
For our local followers, the Community House of Birmingham, Michigan is offering a complimentary presentation on the ins and outs of Medicare at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27th.
Below you will find the official course overview…..
Are the changes in Medicare causing you confusion? Are you navigating through the Medicare process or are you helping a parent or loved one navigate through the process? Do you have questions and need answers? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, or if you just want to be reassured that you are making the right choices when it comes to Medicare, please join us for an informative meeting about the rule changes for Medicare. Learn from unbiased industry experts how to match your health care needs with the appropriate insurance provider.
Presenters are Ruth LoPrete, The Area Agency on Aging 1B and Steve Hornacek, The Benefits Group.
RSVP requested, 248-644-5832. To enroll online click here.
How to Lend a Hand at Halloween
Boo! Halloween is just around the corner.
- If your favorite senior is no longer driving, volunteer to purchase candy for him/her to distribute to children who come to the door on Halloween night.
- If the senior is still in their own home, volunteer to distribute the candy. Many seniors find it difficult to get to the door quickly and also find bending down to distribute candy challenging.
- Help the senior “Trick-or-Treat” proof their home (e.g., make sure objects that children could trip over are picked up and/or well marked, make sure all outdoor lighting is working, etc.)
- Place a reminder call on Halloween afternoon to seniors who may have forgotten about the impending arrival of trick-or-treaters at their door.
- Invite the senior to your home if s/he is not living in their own home. They might enjoy seeing all of the little ghosts and goblins arriving at your door.
Influenza Shots: A Must for Seniors
It is that time of year again. Yep, cold and flu season. Which means, it is also time for you to get your annual flu shot.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an online article entitled, Immunizations for Adults, “the most common causes of death, pneumonia and influenza remain among the top ten causes of death for older adults. In 2000, pneumonia and influenza were responsible for 3.3% or 58,557 deaths among people 65 years of age and older.”
According to NBC’s Today Show, “The single best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against the flu is to get vaccinated.” The online report also explains that, “more than 110 million doses of vaccine against regular winter flu are expected this year, according to a new estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
People who fall into the following groups should ensure they are vaccinated:
- Adults 50 and older.
- All children ages 6 months to 18 years.
- Pregnant women.
- People of any age with chronic health problems like asthma, heart disease or a weakened immune system.
- Health workers.
- Caregivers of the high-risk
The CDC online article, also explains, that “among person [sic] aged 65 years and older, influenza vaccination levels have increased from 33% in 1989 to 66% in 1999, surpassing the Healthy People 2000 goal of 60%. “
How to Recognize if You are Suffering a Stroke
According to Everyday Health in an article entitled “Am I Having a Stroke?,” “The window of opportunity to successfully treat a stroke is short – about three hours – so awareness of stroke symptoms is important. Maybe you think you can spot stroke symptoms in someone else, but would you know if a stroke was happening to you?”
In this Everyday Health article, Mark Alberts, MD (Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University) lists the following as signs you may be having a stroke:
- Having difficulty speaking (e.g., finding words, slurring your speech, being unable to speak.
- Having trouble understanding what others are saying to you
- Feeling weak or numb on one side of your body (inability to move your body, expecially if it strikes suddenly)
- Having difficulty with coordination
- Seeing double
- Experiencing a severe headache
Hoarding: Keeping the Clutter at Bay
Hoarding is an issue that we have addressed before on our blog (See our February 3, 2009 post, entitled, “Hoarding and the Elderly.)” This post stresses the importance of ensuring that seniors have a safe, clutter free environment to get around.
I recently read an online Psychology Today article on hoarding that some of you may find of interest. The article entitled, “Everyday Junk: The Clean Sweep” explains that “we use the prefrontal cortex, a brain region involved in decision-making, information processing and behavioral organization, to determine just what ‘supplies’ are worth hoarding. In a small percentage of cases, hoarding may be the result of damage, such as a stroke, to the prefrontal cortex.
For most, however, hoarding is the reflection of anxiety, sometimes raised to the Nth degree of obsession and compulsion. In such instances, it vastly pathologically, overcapitalizes on the virtue of saving.”
Please visit the online article for their detailed list (complete with explanations) for keeping your home clutter free. The high-level list is as follows:
- Let go of nastalgia
- Share the wealth
- Uncover the real problem
- Adopt the in-out rule
- Avoid the “I will fix it someday” trap
- Avoid the “I will use it someday” trap
- Streamline your space
- Make a priority list
How to Start a Walking Program
As most of us already know, we should be exercising on a regular basis. Walking is a great, low-impact way to get such exercise.
Health professionals have recently been encouraging Americans to walk 10,000 steps a day.
The American Heart Association provides a great online pamphlet with tips on starting your own walking program. The pdf pamphlet provides information on:
- How to get started
- Basic stretches
- What to wear
- When to Walk
- What to eat (including a fantastic recipe for an edamam and penne salad with feta)
- Heat safety tips
Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the YOU docs, provide walkers with a fantastic walking tool on their Real Age website. the tool allows walkers to set a goal and then to track their progress on an interactive calendar. Users are even able to invite friends to use the tool via the Real You website.
Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz’s site also has a great area dedicated to fitness with fitness videos showing you how to get started walking, the best pedometers to help you track your mileage and the best walking shoes.
An Easier Way to Keep Family & Friends Up-to-Date on a Loved One’s Condition
As most of our readers/followers know, a little good always comes from adversity.
A neighbor and dear friend of my Mother’s suddenly fell ill a few weeks ago and passed away last week. She was a leader in her community and loved by many. Her illness and passing has hit her community hard.
Her children turned many of us on to a fantastic site called Care Pages (www.carepages.com). Her children would update the site regularly with their mother’s condition. Each of us that subscribed to the site received email notices when her children posted new information. We could then log-in to the site to see how she was doing.
As someone who cares; yet, did not want to disturb the family, I found the site to be incredibly valuable. Not only was I able to see how she was doing but it allowed me to:
- send the patient a message from me and my mother
- see all of the kind sentiments others were sending her way
- invite others to the patient’s page(s)
- send compliments to caretakers (e.g., hospital staff, physician, etc.)
The site is free of charge and allows subscribers to offer emotional support to ailing loved ones 24/7.
Put Your Favorite Senior’s Cell Phone on ICE
Take a few seconds this weekend to put your favorite senior’s cell phone on ICE. Ice stands for “in case of emergency.” Emergency room physicians are frequently faced with being asked to treat critically ill or hurt patients but have no idea who the patient is or his/her medical history.
They typically look for the patient’s contact and medical information in two places:
- Their wallet
- Their cell phones
“The ICE program was originally rolled-out in the UK and has made its way to the U.S. in recent years. The programe encourages cell phone users to put their emergency contact numbers into their cell phone under ICE. Emergency room physicians have been trained to look under ICE in a patient’s cell phone if the patient arrives and is unable to communicate coherently with the physician.
WebMD reports that “most people don’t have ICE on their cell phones, but they’ll plug those letters into their cell phones once they learn why it’s important, a new study shows.”
The study was presented “in New Orleans, at the 37th annual scientific assembly of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).”
The researchers included Dennis McKenna, MD, or New York’s Albany Medical Center.
“‘We are often struggling to reach family members when a patient cannot speak to us, and the first place we might look is a cell phone,’ McKenna Says, in an ACEP news release.
‘ A family member or friend is one of our best resources for learning about the patient’s medical history,’ he explains.
‘Our study shows that people are very willing to program their phones as long as someone tells them why and how to do it, or even does it for them,’ McKenna says.”