Jun 15-16, 2007
After a seminar presentation by Michel on Friday, Gary and Michel went out for a beer. Gary didn’t know how he was going to get into the place since from what he remembered it had a sunken floor. Turned out to be accessible. He wheeled into a box-like cage, which lowered him to the level of the restaurant. Almost. The front “flap” of the cage folded down and he had to wheel down that to get to the restaurant. He said the angle of that flap was pretty steep, though, and he needed a running start to get back up it when leaving the restaurant.
On Saturday he recounted how much progress he’s made in being independent in taking a shower. Now all I do is turn on his bedroom light for him in the morning and put down the side rail of his bed and hand him his crocs (shower shoes) – I wouldn’t have to do the last if he’d remember to put the shoes on his bedside table the night before ;-). He intends to “graduate” to a double bed this summer, so soon I probably won’t have to be lowering the rails. I think I have heard of “clap on” lights, and if those are something useful, maybe he wouldn’t need me for turning the light on for him in the morning, either, if we ever get those.
So, this is quite different from those beginning shower days, when I would turn on the light, bring him breakfast in bed because the shower process took so long he would perish from hunger if he had to wait to eat until he was done with the shower, lower the rail, put his shoes on him, help him with his naked transfer between the bed and the wheelchair using the transfer board, help him make his transfer to the shower bench (“Hips or butt?” used to be my question to him, asking whether he wanted me to put my hands on his hips or under his butt in helping him transfer from one surface to the other), wash and dry his legs and feet for him, help him with his transfer back to his wheelchair, struggle to put those damn thigh-high t.e.d. hose on him, moan and groan in getting his abdominal binder on him, toss him from side to side and help him get his pants on him.
After a seminar presentation by Michel on Friday, Gary and Michel went out for a beer. Gary didn’t know how he was going to get into the place since from what he remembered it had a sunken floor. Turned out to be accessible. He wheeled into a box-like cage, which lowered him to the level of the restaurant. Almost. The front “flap” of the cage folded down and he had to wheel down that to get to the restaurant. He said the angle of that flap was pretty steep, though, and he needed a running start to get back up it when leaving the restaurant.
On Saturday he recounted how much progress he’s made in being independent in taking a shower. Now all I do is turn on his bedroom light for him in the morning and put down the side rail of his bed and hand him his crocs (shower shoes) – I wouldn’t have to do the last if he’d remember to put the shoes on his bedside table the night before ;-). He intends to “graduate” to a double bed this summer, so soon I probably won’t have to be lowering the rails. I think I have heard of “clap on” lights, and if those are something useful, maybe he wouldn’t need me for turning the light on for him in the morning, either, if we ever get those.
So, this is quite different from those beginning shower days, when I would turn on the light, bring him breakfast in bed because the shower process took so long he would perish from hunger if he had to wait to eat until he was done with the shower, lower the rail, put his shoes on him, help him with his naked transfer between the bed and the wheelchair using the transfer board, help him make his transfer to the shower bench (“Hips or butt?” used to be my question to him, asking whether he wanted me to put my hands on his hips or under his butt in helping him transfer from one surface to the other), wash and dry his legs and feet for him, help him with his transfer back to his wheelchair, struggle to put those damn thigh-high t.e.d. hose on him, moan and groan in getting his abdominal binder on him, toss him from side to side and help him get his pants on him.
posted by Peg Daniels at 8:16 PM
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