Reeve Foundation Paralysis Community

Well it is me again already! I am so bored already and it is still November. I guess this blog sort of goes along with the "Dreading winter" blog. I was always on the go and hardly ever stayed indoors. This being my first winter in "the seat" I am not sure what to do with myself to keep half way sane. I still am not able to transfer into a car so I can not even go to a movie, or a mall. I have watched some instructional videos on how to transfer into a car and it looks so easy. But all of the people I have seen do it are young strong males. I am not any of those things!

Does anyone have any suggestions?

How do you currently transfer now? how do you get on a couch or on a shower bench? It's the same technique. Getting lined up is important. You may need a board to help with the gap until you get comfortable.

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I just came back from yesterday.

The answer to the couch and the shower bench is I don't! I have never sat on anything but a wheelchair or my bed since Feb. of this year. When I think about it no wonder I am depressed. I have a very old manual chair that I use for the shower, and my son has been using a hoyer lift to put me in it. But then I have to take my showers at night so the sling can dry for me to use it again. One thing these messages have showed me is that I wasn't taught much of what I need to know. Hopefully I will be accepted into the free weekly trial and will get some self confidence so I can finally get out of the house!

I'm a C7 T1 - not complete though. I wanted to comment to you that it appears that you've got something very powerful you're not aware of. Motivation. For 5 years, I was so positive I couldn't do basically anything that I didn't even try. I really understand about not being able to transfer to a car and how depressing all this is. But do try to pat yourself on the back (so to speak) because you've got something many, if not most people I know don't have (people I know who are disabled or not) and that is courage.

Please keep asking others for directions. The more you do, the more likely you'll receive an answer. You don't sound like a giver-upper to me, which is wonderful.

Good going.

Saralee

Do you use the lift for bed as well? 

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T 7-8 since 2005

I had been, just started using the board this past week.  I really want to be done with the lift.

Great.  At you level, unless there is something else complicating things, you should't need to use the lift.  Were you taught to use the transfer board in rehab?

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T 7-8 since 2005

They tried when I first got there but I had the body brace on and couldn't bend so they switched to the lift. When I went back after my brace was off they did try but thought the lift was safer when I first went home. I am overweight still and maybe that was a factor? I did have a stomach problem then. They gave me mylicon and sent me home. 3 days later I was rushed to my hometown ER and had a gangrenous gallbladder.  I was in that hospital for 2 weeks, and then had to wait 1 month for my incisions to heal to start outpatient rehab, I am sure there are other overweight people who transfer without much problem.  Are there any tricks that I might not be aware of?

That makes sense as to why you didn;t learn then, the brace, and then recovering from surgery.  Overweight shouldn't be a big issue, altho I guess that depends a bit on what you mean by overweight.  Small people with good upper body strength find it easier, I am sure.  But I am not small, I have lost a lot of weight since I was hurt, but I was quite heavy at the time, and had a broken shoulder.  They still had me transferring.  It is something that really needs to be shown, can you push for some basic pt?  I know here there are even people who come out ..... kinda like visiting nurses.  You probably need some sort of exercise routine to build up your arms and shhoulders a bit.  It takes surprisingly little ..... 1/2 hour every other day for a couple of weeks will make a huge difference.  Even without that, there is a trick to make transferring easier if you don't have the arms to just pick yourself up and over.  You lean way far over in your chair, leaning over your feet, then pivot your butt over to the bed.  One hand is on the chair, the other on the bed, pushing up and over,  Unweighting your butt helps a lot.  Imagine you were sitting on the newspaper, and wanted to get it out w/o standing up, if you lean, there is a lot less weight to move.  Without help learning, it is really hard to lean far enough forward to make it easy.  It seems like you will fall, and having someone there in front of you, who knows what they are doing, to help, while convincing you you won;t fall makes a big difference. 

You said you are trying to transfer with the board.  I am guesing that you are sitting upright, and scooting across?  Try leaning forward over your feet a bit while you do it next time. 

Push for more outpatient rehab.  At your level, insist they teach you how to transfer!

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T 7-8 since 2005