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My MIL is getting her big toe cut off due to an infection that is eating away at the bone. The doc wants her to stay off her feet for the next 3 weeks [helllll LoL] BUT she has dialysis three times a week. We have 5/6 steps to get to our ground floor apartment outside. We will be having a wheelchair to transport her to and from the car and stuff but having the hardest time trying to figure out how to get her up the stairs. I don't want my husband, her son, to pull her up and down the stairs in the wheelchair as he already has back problems and she can't walk with the boot because 1] she isn't very active so she's super weak and prolly wont be able to walk on just the heel well enough and 2] mainly because she's going to be a big baby about having to do things [she stands there, STANDS there asking me to take off her button up sweater that just pops open *eye roll]. The doctor suggested crawling up and down the stairs but there is no way, especially with the snow here in Alaska. Just looking for options or ideas we haven't thought of to get her in and out of the house for dialysis

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Get a ramp. Ask an occupational therapist to assess the layout of the steps and recommend one that won't create too steep a slope to use the wheelchair safely.
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I meant to add: as this sounds like a shared entryway, you'll be looking for the type of ramp that can be installed and removed ad hoc - they come either in sections, or foldable. You'll still need somewhere to store it and it will add to the journey time, but it's better than caning your back or having to cajole mother into doing gymnastics as well as buttoning up her own sweater!
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If it at all possible book her into an AL for convalescent care. Some docs here insist on it before they will proceed with surgery, your doc there sounds like an a$$, asking a frail elder to crawl up and down the stairs in the winter!!
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Our office has one of those portable ramps that you put up when needed and take it down til later, but, it is challenging and we only use it on 3 steps! I would imagine it would be a big incline for 6 steps. You might try it, but, I would be very wary of trying to get her up and down a precarious slant.

I might call the dialysis clinic and ask about resources. Do they have a social worker on staff? Tell the doctor crawling, possibly on snow and ice, is not feasible. If she stays in a rehab unit, they would have to transport her by van or ambulance each visit. That sounds like the safest thing to do.

I've read before that some people have called the fire department to come and get people in and out of their houses when steps are an issue. I'd clear that in advance though. What if they have an emergency and aren't available? Lots to consider.
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Depending on what part of Alaska, they're in, crawling may not be a bad idea. If she is in Fairbanks, they've already had many days below zero . Any snow and ice, would have been solidified to the ground. Doc does not want to be liable if a ra mp is used, it gets slippery and mom and/or the person pushing the wheelchair would slip and fall
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Some of you may not realize, if the home she is being wheeled in has snow and ice or is otherwise wet, and the ramp does not have antislip capabilities, there is a good chance for a slip and/or fall.
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Person pushing wheelchair through snow tries to traverse outside ramp with wet shoes/boots while pushing wheelchair
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Ask about home dialysis
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So the stairs are under a roof so it's protected from snow and ice but it's still really cold and wet due to us walking up and down the stairs throughout the day. She has a real sensitivity to anything cold hence, not being able to crawl up the stairs. She has neuropathy in her legs and her hands so it's making things a little tougher. We're the only ones who use those stairs because our apartment is the only one on the ground level. Home dialysis would require her to have another surgery to get that site into her stomach and she does not want that. But thank you everyone for your suggestions. I had no idea there was such a thing called portable ramps. On my way to speak to the social worker at dialysis. Thank you!
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I would like to say as someone who was off her feet for a few weeks,, scooting up and down steps is not as easy as you think if you can;t put weight on a foot! and then when you get to the top or bottom,, you will need help getting onto your feet to get in the wheelchair.My hubs had to dead lift me. I think you may want to look into short term rehab. And I am in my 50s and was reasonably healthy
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