Flip Side: Bed & Bathroom Plan 6

Children's children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father. Proverbs 17:6 NKJV

 When my dad first moved here almost four years ago, I became his caregiver. When doctors said he had to have more medical care and then first moved to, the group home, and then the Veteran's Home, I oversaw Dad's caregiving. Since I broke my heel a couple of months ago, I became a caregivee and want to share the perspective that Christ gives me through this.

 The Bed & Bathroom Plan 5 in my bedroom had been working fairly well. Then, one night when the urge struck, I used the walker to get to the transport chair behind it and scooted into and down the hall. I took the other walker inside the bathroom and quickly hobbled sideways through the narrow doorway and made the small quarter turns to back up to the toilet to sit down and use it. When I finished, I pushed myself up on the sink and shower bench and hobbled sideways through the narrow doorway and put my hands on my locked transport chair and sat down in it.

 This time was different! I couldn't catch my breath and it frightened me. I started praying for Jesus to heal me and be with me, regardless of what His will was. In other words, I wanted Him there with me if this was the time He was calling me to heaven or if He was going to heal me.

 As I sat in the hall praying, it dawned on me that the paramedics may need to be contacted if this didn't get any better. My husband was fast asleep. I woke him up to explain that I might need him to call the paramedics if it didn't get any better, but wanted some more time to see if Jesus was going to heal it, first. 

 My breathing slowly became more regular, but still very shallow. It gave me a lot to be prayerful about when I went back to bed. What I finally decided was that the racing down the hall to the bathroom in the middle of the night in order to not have an accident, put a lot of stress on my body. I prayed for a way to rectify that and this is the plan I felt led to.

 The next night, I returned to sleeping in the reclining chair in the front room. My husband put the porta-potty (bedside commode) next to the chair. That way, when the urge hit, I took the pillows and blanket off and put the footrest down, while pushing both armrests until I was in a standing position to hold onto the walker placed in front of the chair. I started to make small quarter turns, so I could turn toward and back up to the porta-potty. After using it, there was a roll of toilet paper and a bottle of water on my husband's recliner, so I could finish up and wash up.

 After that, I would do everything in reverse. I would push up on the 
handles of the porta-potty to a standing position to take hold of the walker. I would take small quarter steps toward  and then back up to the reclining chair. I then reach back to the two armrests of the reclining chair and ease down into it. Fortunately, Jesus gives me as many different bathrooming plans as I need.

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Chair to Toilet Transfer
By: Mizzou SHP via You Tube

Flip Side-Bed & Bathroom Plan 5

He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy. Proverbs 17:21 NKJV

 I started as my dad's caregiver over 3 1/2 years ago when he wanted to move in with us, so we could help him with his medical conditions. The doctors eventually said Dad needed skilled nursing 24/7 because of his Parkinson's Disease and repeated bouts of pneumonia.  He now resides at a very nice Veteran's Home and I oversee his care. This entry is the flip side of caregiving, because when I broke my heel and was told I couldn't walk on it for 90 days, I became a caregivee and my patient husband is my caregiver. 

 Well the Bed & Bathroom Plan 4 worked for a while, but I thought it was time to try to stop staying in the reclining chair all night and try to go back to sleeping in my own bed with my husband, since my heel didn't hurt much anymore when it had pressure on it. I tried to get the pillows stacked on our bed, but it seemed almost impossible to find a comfortable position for propping my broken heel. I ended up going back to the reclining chair that night, because it was bad enough that I couldn't sleep, but I was keeping my husband awake, as well. I prayed that night about it, because Christ knew what needed to be done to allow me to sleep in my bed. He gave me an idea and I tried it successfully the next night. I was so very happy to be sleeping in my own bed! 
When the urge would hit, I would use the walker by my bed and turn small quarter turns and back into the transport chair by the foot of my bed that my husband had put there before going to bed. I would scoot the transport chair with my good foot over the rest of the carpet and use the door trim to help to ease the transport chair onto the tile hallway floor. I did this, because I was trying to use the walker less, because of the strain it put on my right arm.

 I scooted the transport chair forward down the hall and locked the wheels just outside the bathroom door. I pulled the other walker out of the bathroom doorway. I hobbled sideways through the narrow doorway and started making small quarter turns and back up to the toilet. I put one hand on the sink and one on the shower bench to ease onto the toilet.

 Once I've finished, I do everything in reverse. I use the walker and hobbble sideways through the narrow doorway. I reach back to grab one of the transport chair's armrests and then the other. I push the walker back into the bathroom doorway for the next bathroom trip. I unlock the transport chair wheels and scoot myself backwards to the end of the hall. 

 Then, I turn the transport chair forward in front of the bedroom across from mine. I wheel to my bedroom door and pull the transport chair onto the carpet by pulling on the bedroom doorframe. I scoot the transport chair and lock down the wheels  behind the walker. I push down on the armrests while grabbing hold of the walker. I start doing small quarter turns to back up to the bed. I reach back and hold onto my nightstand as I ease onto the bed. I am so very blessed that Christ gives me these elaborate plans for being able to get to the bathroom and back!

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Video: Physical Therapy Exercises for Seniors: How to Perform Safe Transfers
By: Dr. Steve Sudell Jr, 24 Hr Home Care via Youtube

Flip Side-Bed & Bathroom Plan 4

A foolish son is a grief to his father, And bitterness to her who bore him. Proverbs 17:25 NKJV 

Plan 3 worked pretty well for awhile, but my arms got so sore of supporting my weight hobbling on the walker to and from the bathroom, because of my broken heel, that it was starting to become rather painful. I was prayerful about a way to adapt this plan.

The newest plan went like this. When I needed to use the the restroom, I would pull out the pillows from the reclining chair that had been propping up my broken heel. Once the footrest was down, I would reach forward to pull the walker to me. Then, I would push up on both arms of the chair, to stand and hold the walker. I would hobble across the frontroom carpet and start turning small quarter turns to back up to the locked transport chair waiting a few feet behind the walker. I would do small quarter turns to back up to the locked transport chair. I would hold onto the armrests to ease myself into the transport chair. After unlocking the wheels, I would scoot backwards over the remaining carpet and onto the tile until just past the bathroom door.

 Next, I would pull the other walker out of the bathroom. Once the transport chair wheels were locked, I pushed on both armrests two grab the bathroom walker. I would then hobble sideways through the small bathroom door. When I would get near the toilet, I would use small quarter turns to back up to the toilet. I would hold onto the sink and the shower table to ease onto the toilet.

 When I was finished, I would do everything in reverse. I would hobble to the door and go sideways on the walker into the hall where my locked transport chair was waiting. It was facing forward, since I originally scooted it down the hall backward. When I held onto the armrests to ease myself into the transport chair, I unlocked the wheels and pushed the walker back into the bathroom for the next trip there. I proceeded to scoot down the hall and pulled on the corner into the frontroom to help me up onto the carpet. Then, I pulled on another chair to help me manoeuvre around it. I locked the transport chair behind the walker and pushed up onto the handrails to hold onto the walker. I used the walker the few remaining feet and started doing small quarter turns until I backed into the reclining chair. I pushed the walker out of the way and pushed up the footrest of the reclining chair and started propping pillows for my broken heel.

 You may wonder why I used a walker, since it was causing pain in my arms. Well, I have to use a walker to get out of the reclining chair and into the transport chair, since I'm not able to walk on my broken heel, yet. Also, I have to use a walker to get through the narrow bathroom doorway. Overall, this newest plan cut down my walker use by 2/3, which was just enough change to allow my arms to heal and regain their strength. I am so blessed that Christ gives me these ideas to make the changes needed.

Since these are examples of  I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: How to Perform a Transfer (T1 SCI)
By: abeveridge89 via Youtube

Flip Side-Bed & Bathroom Plan 3

A foolish son is the ruin of his father, And the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping. Proverbs 19:13 NKJV

The bathrooming part of Plan 2, worked out O.K. for me, but the  being able to find a comfortable way to prop up my broken heel while sleeping was not a ten! After many sleepless nights rearranging pillows that my cast squashed down, I was prayerful about another plan. 

 After talking to my patient husband, we realized that I should sleep in the frontroom in a chair that reclines, so I could prop my foot up and get some sleep.

 With this, came the need for a different bathroom plan, since I was sleeping at the other end of the house. We decided to put the walker from the bedroom into the frontroom a few feet in front of the reclining chair.

 When I would have to use the restroom, I would take the pillows out of the reclining chair and reach forward to pull my walker toward me. I would push up on both arms of the chair to standing position where I could grab onto the walker. I would hobble with the walker over the carpet in the frontroom and the tile in the hall. I would turn sideways to hobble through the narrow bathroom door. Then, I would do small quarter turns in front of the toilet to back up to it. I used a hand on the sink and the other on the shower table to ease down onto the toilet.

 I would do the same in reverse after finishing to get back up to the walker. Then, I would hobble sideways through the doorway and forward down the hall and into the frontroom. When I was close to the reclining chair, I would do little quarter turns to back up to the chair before sitting down. 

 This plan worked for a long time until my arms got too weak from supporting my weight on the walker to and from the bathroom about once every hour or so. I will explain how we remedied that in the next post.

Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

 Video: How to Transfer a Patient from the bed to the Wheelchair
By: Alice Holland, eHowhealth via Youtube

Flip Side-Bed &Bathroom Plan 2

Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction. Proverbs 19:18 NKJV

I became a caregivee after breaking my heel and not being able to walk for 90 days. This gave me a different perspective after overseeing my dad's care for the last three years.

 It is vitally important that a plan is in place to allow the caregivee to use the bathroom successfully. The first plan had some flaws, so after prayerful consideration, I tried Plan 2.

 When the urge would strike, I would get out of bed and use the walker to hobble over the carpet to the doorway. My husband would put the transport chair at the bedroom doorway before bedtime and lock down the wheels, so it wouldn't slip when I got into it. I would do little quarter turns in the walker until I could feel my transport chair against the back of my legs and then sit down in it. 

 After releasing the wheels, I would scoot the transport chair on the tile, down the hall with my feet. When I got to the bathroom, there was another walker that my husband placed at the doorway for me. I would pull it in into the hallway and lock down the wheels of the transport chair before pushing on the handles of the transport to stand up to the walker.

 I would then hobble sideways to get through the narrow bathroom doorway. Then, when I was near the toilet, I would do small quarter turns to back up to it, then use one hand on the sink and the other on the shower bench to lower myself to the toilet.

 After finishing, I would do everything in reverse, pushing up to the walker, then hobbling sideways into the hall to back into my transport chair.

 After releasing the wheels, I would scoot backwards down the hall and turn the transport chair forward in front of the bedroom across from mine. I would lock down the wheels when I was in front of the walker I had left in the bedroom doorway. 

 After pushing up on the transport chair handrests, I was able to take hold of the walker, hobble to the bed, and do little quarter turns before backing up to the bed to lie down. 

 This seems like a lot, but I felt that Christ saved me from getting dangerous blood clots, by my having to get up once every hour or so to use the restroom. Once I realized this, I wasn't so frustrated with the routine that periodically caused me to keep my blood circulated.
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: CNA Skills: Ambulation with Walker
By: AZMTI via Youtube

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