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Pop's home
8 years ago
Pop came home yesterday.
I don't know how much of his right leg was taken off, but his stump-protector thing comes to mid-shin.
Had an ad hoc ramp on the front door for the wheelchair. He's been issued a nylon belt-thing to allow other people to grab hold of him to move him around and stuff.
First inconvenience: the wheelchair he's been loaned does not fit through the bedroom door. Goes through the front-door and down the hall just fine, but not into the bedroom. We have to bring out the walker sooner than we intended.
Major complication: turns out Pop has *not* been doing the exercises taught to him during his rehab. He's got no grip strength, barely enough arm strength and leg strength to use the walker, and he keeps forgetting how he's supposed to use the walker.
Even before all of this, he wasn't taking care of himself. I got the impression the only time he ate a proper meal was when Mom would make him eat one during his weekly visits. I've heard he'd eat so infrequently, he'd get light-headed enough to not be able to stand up on the first try.
For those of you just tuning in, Mom's a little Vietnamese lady, and getting on in years herself. It quickly becomes apparent I'm the one who will be holding Pop up by his weight-belt.
His major exercise is getting from the bedroom to the living room and back. He was taught, then forgot, how to position himself to maintain balance, how to transition from chair to walker, turning, how close is "close enough" to sit down safely, etc. My job is stay behind him with both my hands on his weight belt. Mom's job during all this, apparently, is to nag Pop about his failure to follow proper technique. *sigh*
Another inconvenience, the cat5 cable from the modem (in my room) to Mom's room. Pop is supposed to get his foot a least a few inches off the floor with the walker, but because he skipped his exercise and practice instead of going hop-scoot, he goes shuffle-scoot. Luckily, duct taping the cable against the wall and Mom's ubiquitous area rugs should prevent future hang-ups.
I don't know how much of his right leg was taken off, but his stump-protector thing comes to mid-shin.
Had an ad hoc ramp on the front door for the wheelchair. He's been issued a nylon belt-thing to allow other people to grab hold of him to move him around and stuff.
First inconvenience: the wheelchair he's been loaned does not fit through the bedroom door. Goes through the front-door and down the hall just fine, but not into the bedroom. We have to bring out the walker sooner than we intended.
Major complication: turns out Pop has *not* been doing the exercises taught to him during his rehab. He's got no grip strength, barely enough arm strength and leg strength to use the walker, and he keeps forgetting how he's supposed to use the walker.
Even before all of this, he wasn't taking care of himself. I got the impression the only time he ate a proper meal was when Mom would make him eat one during his weekly visits. I've heard he'd eat so infrequently, he'd get light-headed enough to not be able to stand up on the first try.
For those of you just tuning in, Mom's a little Vietnamese lady, and getting on in years herself. It quickly becomes apparent I'm the one who will be holding Pop up by his weight-belt.
His major exercise is getting from the bedroom to the living room and back. He was taught, then forgot, how to position himself to maintain balance, how to transition from chair to walker, turning, how close is "close enough" to sit down safely, etc. My job is stay behind him with both my hands on his weight belt. Mom's job during all this, apparently, is to nag Pop about his failure to follow proper technique. *sigh*
Another inconvenience, the cat5 cable from the modem (in my room) to Mom's room. Pop is supposed to get his foot a least a few inches off the floor with the walker, but because he skipped his exercise and practice instead of going hop-scoot, he goes shuffle-scoot. Luckily, duct taping the cable against the wall and Mom's ubiquitous area rugs should prevent future hang-ups.
