Commented on a discussion 5/20/2008 at 12:58 am
When my father turned 91, he was diagnosed with 5 major illnesses. My parents had not made an preparations for elder care. My brother, sister and I had to make a downstairs bathroom and bedroom ADA c
...Read MoreWhen my father turned 91, he was diagnosed with 5 major illnesses. My parents had not made an preparations for elder care. My brother, sister and I had to make a downstairs bathroom and bedroom ADA compliant. We had to enlarge the door to the bathroom so that either a walker or wheel chair could get through the door way. We put a tabbed curtain up on the exterior side of the door on a metal curtain rod for the door which worked amazingly well. Often hospice would put the walker at the doorway with the curtain pushed further out which gave a little more space in a very small bathroom. We replaced the toilet with an ADA approved toilet which is higher than the normal toilet. We put toilet safety rails on where we could remove the rail closest to the tub and put an aluminum transfer seat beside it where if Dad needed to could move from toilet directly into the tub. We put safety bars at the head of the tub and along the side wall so that Dad could stand for a shower if he were up to it. We had the tub option for sitting on the transfer seat or we had a shower with a diverter that allowed a shower head and/or hand held shower spray. We put in a wall mounted sink that allowed either the walker or wheel chair to be there. He also very much appreciate the battery operated toothbrushes as he didn't have the arm hand dexterity to really clean his teeth the way he wanted with a regular toothbrush.
At any rate, the easiest solution for us was the tabbed drape that hung from the outside of the door to about an inch above the floor. We can always put a door on but it also enables others to get in quickly should the need arise!