September 24, 2017
Sorry I have not posted for quite a while. Strangely enough, I’ve been very busy for someone who has nothing but time. A lot of appointments, scans en tests between Jan and I, illness in the family, lack of discipline, Parkinson’s.
Before we go on, I just want to mention one more thing about that big chair I discussed in my last blog. It “eats” your blanket or anything it can get it’s “paws?” on. To get the item back you need to lift or recline the chair and then pull it away. Now on to other things. Who knew!
This blog (as well as the previous one and maybe the next one, is about adapting to PD with the use of “things”. Equally useful for people with other disabilities like COPD, Arthritis, or people that are aging.
4 friends
I have 4 great friends that help me get from the TV room to the kitchen. There are 3 steps to take, usually not a problem but when I am at my darkest off time, usually about mid-evening, beginning about an hour after supper, lasting until bedtime when my Sinimet CR (controlled release) kicks in. Meanwhile I use a small walker (a.k.a. Rolator) to get to the steps, then 2 grab bars are there to help me up, then my cane to carry on. Pretty spiffy! Took some time to figure out but now I don’t have to bring any equipment up or down the stairs. On a good day, I can even carry a cup of something without spilling (most of the time). I’m not sure you can see all of them clearly but they are there. When the grab bar installer was finished, he said it would all be fine as long as there were no monkeys hanging on it. A joke, right? After 4 or 5 years I see now that he was serious; the bars need to be inspected from time to time and repaired as required. Ours take a lot of use; I am the worst offender, putting too much stress on the fasteners in the wall. I invested $ 50.00 in a so called Hurricane, which can stand by itself on a flat hard surface and can be collapsed for easier storage, for example in a car.
My bed friend
I’ll try to explain this thing we call our parrot. It’s a metal thing to hang on to when getting in and out of bed. There are 4 horizontal bars all in a nice framework, but what makes it work are the long bars at a 90 degree angle that go under your mattress. This gives a lot of strength. Why is it called a parrot? I have no idea, if you know a diffent name, let me know. I first heard the word in the Netherlands and thought it was just a European word, but some friends in Canada also said it was a “parrot”. Here’s a picture.
Grabber
This is a very useful tool I use to retrieve items I’m unable to reach, at the moment because of various pains, but generally for anyone who wants to pick up items that slipped away. Works great in combo with that “big chair” from my previous post. I even use it to pick laundry out of the dryer (not so good out of the washing machine or dishwasher. It works so well, I’m looking for an other one to use outside. In the picture I’m picking up a lobster. Not. It’s a neck pillow, in itself a neat adaptation for many people.
