Hoyer lift is a Godsent

I decided to stay home today in order to mow this huge overgrown mess of a property, rather than wait until tomorrow. It has rained for about a week now, so it will take awhile, but I like the look, and smell, of fresh mown grass when it's finished. I have chores to do at the, currently vacant, rental property but will finish those tasks tomorrow and attempt to find a good tenant before we leave for Germany. This renatl is looking good with the new bathroom tile, and has been a good property for us. It's the first property we bought (2003), back when Eddie was still able to help with the renovations. We have a lot of tales to tell about that one. Remind us to tell you about replacing the brand new tile (only one tile, but replaced it twice) and the busted toilet story sometime. We had the same tenants living there (six years!) until August, when they moved to Houston.

It's a good thing I stayed home today. Eddie, always striving to stay independent, and excited about watching the OU game on TV, went to the sunroom (to watch the game), tried to open a window and fell. Early on with ALS he fell quite a bit, but doesn't much anymore...maybe once every other month. I think he moves more cautiously now. Fortunately he hasn't been hurt when he's fallen. He still uses his walker to get around, and only consents to the wheelchair when I'm available, and we're going out somewhere.

About the Hoyer lift. If you don't know what it is, check it out online sometime. It is awesome! The last few times he fell... BH (before Hoyer), I had a really difficult time getting him up again. Then in about March or April, he fell and I realized I couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't get him up off the floor. It was the middle of the night, he and I were both exhausted after numerous attempts, and I decided to call the fire dept. A friend/co-worker of mine whose brother is a fireman recommended it first ... said folks call all the time for help like that and the firemen are very gracious. Another close friend of ours had told me I should call the FD for help, always..rather than risk hurting myself (or him), but I'd never done it before and Eddie and I both hate to ask for help if we can do it ourselves. That night I was going to call...he was very upset at the idea and asked me not to. I was insisting. We were both crying.... it was just an emotional, awful night. He finally came up with a crazy idea that worked, but I was completely worn out afterwards, and not a happy camper.

My, always resourceful, sweet, sister-in-law Rosie had told me months before to check into getting a Hoyer lift. When I asked the doctor, he told me that the lift wouldn't lower far enough to actually get Eddie up, so I dropped the subject. My advice now is...don't always believe the doctors!

A few weeks after that, Eddie's walker broke. One of the springs inside the walker that holds the adjustment "button" in place wouldn't spring back out. So when I walk into the kitchen, I see he has the walker, in pieces...he's going to fix it! He's always been good at repairing things...so good that I rarely bought new things over the years (32 yrs now) because he could fix the old stuff! Remind me to regale you with those stories sometime. (We might hold a record for the lifetime use of a clothes dryer.)

Well, it couldn't be fixed, the spring was broken. I found an old, loaner, walker to get him by and went the next day to replace his favorite model. The local store here is called Mobility Plus, and sells all kinds of things for the disabled. Viola! New walker, his favorite model, purchased in just minutes. While there, I asked to see a Hoyer Lift. And lo and behold, they have a new style lift with a curved support that will lower enough to lift a person (in the sling provided). It's the best assistive device for caregivers, ever! When he falls now, I roll the Hoyer to him, lay him flat enough to manuever the sling under him, loop six straps over six hooks and start cranking. Of course, I seem to get confused about which straps go on which hoops, or get the sling sideways... but he is not timid about correcting me, so it takes both of us to figure it out sometimes. He still has a lot of strength in his hands so can pull himself into position and saves my back a bit too. (I've bonked him on the head a time or two by lowering the brace too far, but didn't hurt him too much.) When the Hoyer comes out, the whole process can usually reduce us both to laughter...and that's a good thing! It's hydraulic, so takes very little effort to raise him gently, but quickly, until he's suspended in mid-air and I can push a chair beneath him, then release the tension. Then in a sitting positon it's easy for him to stand again. The entire process take about 15 minutes, start to finish. I can't tell you what a relief it is, for both of us, to stay independent and keep him at home. Hoyer Lifts are awesome! Thank you, Rosie!!

Funny thing is, I had just told him about the blog earlier today. It wasn't a secret really. I'd mentioned that I was going to try it out, but hadn't pointed out to him that I'd been posting for a while now. He's welcome to read it and input too, or dictate to me what he wants said. Seems Mr. email Snoop had already discovered it on his own....LOL. He'd intercepted an email from our niece commenting on the blog, and found the link. So after his fall today, I told him he'd be reading about that incident on the blog...for sure. He was laughing, and I thought ....hmmmmm, that's how I'm going to keep him in line in Germany. I'm threatening to tell everyone, via blog, if he doesn't behave himself while we're there!

Love to all!