Hello! Depending what part of the city you are looking, I can certainly make recommendations. Do you have an area in mind?

Great question! You are going to want to always transfer your loved one on the right, stronger side. You will need to position yourself closer to the weaker side as a means of support. If your mom has a wheelchair, you will need to position it to the right side of the surface you are transferring to. The wheelchair should be angled at 45 degrees. Make sure you are having her use her right arm to reach toward the wheelchair and help her pivot to the chair on the right. I encourage you to talk to your mom each step of the way so she can help and you both don’t get injured. If she utilizes a walker, you will want to place walker in front of her, stand on her weaker side, and have her push up from the bed with her strong arm to stand then grab the walker. Please let me know if you have any other questions or beed more clarification.

Typically the hospice company can provide for you. However, you can find them on Amazon for a very low cost. Search gait belt - the typical one is $9.99.

Are you able to send a picture of the sling you have so I may better guide you?

Great ideas, Ryan! Definitely try making the gait belt look for fashionable than functional, even though you know it’s true purpose. Validating your loved one’s feeling is a great start. A tactic is to ensure the belt is worn low enough on her waist and that it is snug enough to allow one to two fingers to just fit between the belt and mom. Any tighter, you will get resistance from her. Too loose, it will slide up and make it very uncomfortable under her breast line, also causing resistance. Additionally, it helps explaining to her what you are doing prior to just applying the belt - maybe even ask her to help put it on, giving her a sense of control/power. I have often told my patients that I use the belt to hold on to while we dance from one chair to the next (transferring). Make it something Relatable to her and she will more likely use it and complete the Task.

I have also recommended locking the door from the inside with a key and taking the key with you. The use of a stop sign on the door can also deter a loved one, if she/he is still able to identify what a stop sign means.

Amanda - is she currently wearing actual adult diapers or depends? If she doesn’t mind underwear, then replacing her cotton underwear with adult depends is usually a good transition to get her to utilize more consistently. Typically removing all of her underwear and replacing them with continence briefs in her drawers will allow only one option which makes it easier to “choose” so to speak, as she will only have the option of depends. Try this and if it doesn’t work, please let me know and I can offer other insight.

Great question, Sharon! There are several things to consider when choosing the just right sling for your husband/loved one. Most of this is contingent upon the amount of support he needs along with what you need as a caregiver. The full body will protect his head should he ever have trouble with cervical (neck) stability whereas the other slings will not provide this. A full body sling involves your loved one lying during the lifting process. It offers a higher backing and gives head support. A U-shape sling is very versatile and crosses under the legs of your loved one, however offers NO head support. There is also a universal sling that is similar to U-shape sling in which it crosses under your loved one's legs and gives both your loved one and you extra stability AND reduces the amount of pressure on any one area of the body. It does NOT have head support.