Life in a wheelchair is not easy. The world has not been designed for the disabled, so something as simple as going into your favorite restaurant can be difficult for someone who is in a wheelchair.
Curbs, steps, narrow doorways and even getting out of bed can be impossible for a person in a wheelchair.
But there are technologies and equipment that can help make life in a wheelchair easier.
1. Hoyer Lift for a Lift Out of Bed
Someone that lacks upper body strength or function may not be able to sit up out of their bed. And when this happens, it means that a person will need to have someone help them sit up and get out of bed and into their wheelchair.
It’s easy to pick up a child, but a full-grown adult is difficult for one person to handle on their own.
Hoyer lifts will help a caretaker put and retrieve a person from the bed. The patient lift will require a sling to be able to pick the person up out of the bed. The sling will be placed under the patient, and then attached to the lift.
Using a high-powered battery system, the Hoyer lift cradles a person, allowing a single caregiver to transfer them to and from their wheelchair.
2. Grabber Tool for Out-of-reach Objects
Bending over to reach an item that has fallen on the floor or reaching up to grab an item placed high is infinitely harder when a person is in a wheelchair. Grabber tools are an easy solution, and they’re very affordable, too.
Whether a person is in a wheelchair or lacks mobility of some kind, a grabber tool will allow the person to reach items that may be out-of-reach otherwise.
3. Slider or Transfer Boards
Transfer or slide boards make a lot of sense for a person in a wheelchair, and these boards make it easier to go from one surface to the next. When going from a bed to a wheelchair or from a wheelchair to a traditional surface, boards can help.
One end of the board will be placed under the person, often under one thigh and the other on the surface that the person is going to or leaving.
Properly placed, the person is then able to use their upper body to slide themselves across the board from one surface to the next.
4. Shower Chair
How does a person in a wheelchair shower? A caregiver may wash the person, or the person may have a shower chair. These chairs will sit in any bathtub, and a transfer board is often used to get on the chair.
These chairs allow the person to sit inside of the shower and bathe.
And shower chairs have been designed to withstand water damage. This means that the person can shower without worrying that the chair will rust or become damaged in the process. You can’t put a wheelchair in a shower without damaging it and leaving the person in a very uncomfortable situation in the process.
