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

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