I need to learn how to transfer my mother from bed to wheelchair. Any advice?

Thanks everyone, such great advice. We do have a transfer board, and I think maybe I just need some refresher training with my mother as she is now. She was in a nursing home for rehab this time last year, and she hated being moved in the Hoyer lift. I'm trying to make as small a deal of this as possible for her, as she gets pretty easily freaked out (so do I at times). I'll consult a physical therapist. Thanks again.

There totally are. Search on YouTube with terms like "Hoyer lift" or "slide board transfer" and lots of things come up. Just now looking I see things that give one a general idea, but I wish there was a video I could point you to of regular folks at home using a Hoyer lift without a lot of drama. It can be pretty simple when you've just done it a bunch of times. Thank God for the Hoyer lift; it is great for home caregivers.

Are there any YouTube videos out there?

Ahmijoy makes a good point about lifts being easy to use and safer. Once you are trained, they are not a problem. While we know how to use the transfer board, we never use it because it is much more secure and easy to use our lift.

We rent the lift from a medical equipment company along with dad's hospital bed and alternating air pressure mattress. Dad's insurance pays for most of it.

I worked in Elder Care and used my client's PT as a professional to show me how to get my client to not go "sack of sand" in my arms. She didn't want to do any of the moving--but I was getting to the point I simply couldn't xfer her without help--and I never had any!

He gave me a lot of great tips on ways to maneuver her. They have served me well as my own mother will also allow me to "move her" on my own. Doesn't matter what they weigh, you go deadweight on somebody and knees will buckle.

Don't be like me and think you're superwoman. I ruined my back working elder care and now am limited to 40lbs of lifting and even that seems like a lot--esp when I used to hoist sheetrock, 50 lb bags of cement etc w/o even thinking about it.

It's a very good idea to have a qualified person teach you how to do this safely.

Whatever technique the therapist shows you, though, I'm pretty sure it won't involve your lifting 140lbs. Keep an open mind about what the therapist recommends.

Can you tell us why you don’t want to use a lift? This is actually the safest way to transfer her. It’s easy to learn how to use them If you get a prescription from your doctor for one, there’s a good chance Medicare will pay for it.

You do absolutely need to have someone show you how to do a transfer. The aide can show you the best way so neither you nor Mom get hurt.

If you have slide boards and a hospital bed that can be lowered, that's probably the safest. The wheelchair would also have to have removable arms.

My father made slide boards for my mother; we used them for in-home transfers from chair to chair to wheelchair and wheelchair to car and reverse transfers.

Although my father made the ones we used, you can also buy them. Google "Patient Transfer Boards." The ones shown are much larger; and some appear to be of heavy cloth. Dad made his of wood, sanded them well and beveled the ends for easy "scooting" on and off. I don't know what kind of finish he applied to the wood, but it was smooth so there wouldn't be "pokes" from the wood.

I don't know if Medicare would pay for them for home use, but you can call one of your mother's doctors and ask about that.

Your caregiver, or one of the therapists at the agency for which she works, might also be able to help guide you to finding a good board.

I definitely think you should consult a physical therapist or occupational therapist. We use a lift for my paralyzed dad, but also have a slide transfer board available as back up. My dad's spinal cord rehab insisted we learn how to use it in case of emergency or the lift not being available for some reason. You can view videos of people using a slide transfer board on YouTube to get an idea of how it works.