When my Mom was stronger and lighter, we were able to pull on her bed pad and move her higher in her bed. Now, when I come to visit, I often find her in the middle of the bed lying flat on her back even though she is fully awake. I feel this position is very bad for her state of mind. When I go to readjust her position, I cannot budge her -- she's just gained too much weight. I am trying to avoid getting a mechanical lift because I think that kind of machinery will depress her. I have two aides who have no trouble moving her up higher on the bed, but they are very strong women. Must I let go my aides who are not as strong and are now having difficulty, or is there some technique to readjust her more easily? When two of us pull on either side of her bed pad, we are successful, but I cannot afford to have two aides present at all times. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!
You may be surprised at your mother's reaction to having a lift; she may be relieved at the thought of having no people put out at her expense!
Hopefully you are using a "draw sheet" on the bed.
Lower the head of the bad as far down as it will go.
Raise the foot of the bed as high as it will go.
Grasp the edge of the sheet, if it is one person grasp at the top, near the shoulders while you stand behind the top/head of the bed and pull the sheet upwards to the top of the bed. If there are 2 people each grasping a part of the sheet, near the shoulder and hip and pull to the top of the bed.
Gravity is your friend here with the head lower than the foot it will be easy (easier) to slide the person upwards.
It might also be time to look at getting a Hoyer Lift. That will make it easier to transfer from bed to chair or even lift her to change her and change bedding.
(I did find it easier to just roll my Husband for a change or even changing the sheets. I used the Hoyer when getting him into the wheelchair and then back into bed. )
https://www.amazon.com/slide-sheets/s?k=slide+sheets
It's going to be much easier to reduce the friction and slide her up if you put something slick in between a draw sheet and the mattress cover. Most bedpads won't work as well as a draw sheet-they're not big enough to spread out the person's weight, since you need to be pulling across their entire core including the shoulders, and pads usually pull more at the rump and hips. You can make a draw sheet out of a bedsheet folded in half across it's width. It should cover from the person's shoulders to thighs, at least, and is the last piece of linen between the bed and patient.
In the hospital there are plastic 'people movers', but a quick alternative is a large, heavy duty plastic garbage can liner (yard bags work well) or plastic sheeting like a painter's dropcloth. You probably already know how to do this, but the first 3 minutes of this video shows how to maneuver someone in bed to get something under them. Your Mother should be resting on the draw sheet and you will use it to roll her from side to side to get the plastic between the draw sheet and the rest of the linens. The plastic should be under her from rump to shoulders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arqG_2ftfOY
Once she is moved, remove the plastic, going in reverse, so that she doesn't slide down again.
It's not pretty, but it might be worth a try : )
I am tired of hearing about all these children who are caregivers who risk their own health to take care of parents who dont seem to care about the health conssequences for their kids.
" I am trying to avoid getting a mechanical lift because I think that kind of machinery will depress her."
Don't you think a permanent physical injury outweighs the importance of mother's possible depression? Don't you think you will get very depressed when you may be in pain from a preventable injury?
The larger slide sheets with handles (also suggested with a link) are also a big help.
As hard as it is - I would also look into the hoyer system now (as you said you will not be able to have 2 people with her to aide) so it will help the caregiver immensely.
We only use moms to get her in her wheelchair but if mom did become weaker at least I know I am trained on it and know how to use it and mom is also comfortable using it now as well. It may be something to get her use to now. Best wishes
The hospital bed, Hoyer lift and other equipment can be ordered by Hospice if mom is eligible for Hospice and it can also be ordered by the doctor and it should be covered by insurance. No need to buy or "rent" equipment in most cases.
One of my clients LOVED that the more I did the less she had to...so I was basically a one person transfer and had gotten sucked into this dynamic very slowly, but surely. Luckily, one day at PT, her therapist saw me helping her get into the car and he ran out and gave us a mini-lecture on some SAFE ways to move her. By then the damage to my back was a done deal, but these skills have stayed with me and helped me as I sometimes take mother somewhere and she would LOVE to be hand carried everywhere.
Ask yourself: who helps the helper when they are laid up with a bad back?
And yes, at some point my client had to move to a ALF as she needed the HOYER lift and it simply couldn't be made to work in her home.
That's a classic in homecare to get the clients who don't want to do anything for themselves and won't help at all.
I've had more than a few like that. With the ones I knew were capable of helping to transfer themselves I made them. They understood that if they weren't willing to try and help then I would not be getting them up. Or taking them out.
With me it wasn't my back that went. It's my wrists and hands. I can't do anything these days because that pain is bad. It old my own mother that if she gets to the point where she will need to be transferred from a bed to a wheelchair or positioned in bed that I will not be able to care for her.
Private Aide refuses to transfer manually anymore from wheelchair to stairlifts because of back pain. So I get man neighbor to do that..just to get mom out once in a while.
In bed, I ask my mother to turn in bed ..& she says she can’t…so I cross her legs, place her hand on bedrail & turn her. It’s hard & gets more difficult every day. Hugs 🤗
Your private aide can't manually transfer a 125 client? That's ridiculous. You should look for a new aide.
Maybe the aide depending on how big she is might need an assist of another person, but it shouldn't be a problem.
I know exactly what you mean that she keeps sliding down, or working herself down in the bed until she's in the middle of it. I had many bedbound clients who did this.
This is how to pull her up in bed more easily.
1) Totally make the adjustable bed flat.
2) Raise the foot of the bed as high as it can go. This will help greatly.
3) Make sure there is not only a good bed pad under her, but there should also be a large, heavy beach towel or draw sheet folded three times and laid width-wise under the bed pad. The positioning of these things should be right under her butt.
4) Stand at the head of the bed.
5) Grasp the bed pad AND the towel or draw sheet then slide her up as far as she can go.
6) If the bed pad and draw sheet is then up too high after moving her, turn her on her side and roll it from one end as tight as possible under her. Then turn her to the other side and repeat.
If this is too much for you to do physically then bring in a lift. Or whatever equipment needed to help with your mom's care. Don't worry yourself about this making her feel bad or depressed. Believe me, she'll feel a lot worse and depressed if you take a permanent injury and she has to go into a nursing home.
The way some people are 'giving advice' here is to 'wait and see what happens (to the caregiver). This is not the way to proceed. Preventative care is.
Always lay the bed out flat before trying to move someone up toward head of bed.
Here's one I found on amazon for $40 - very similar to what I have. Do search for this: ZHEEYI Bed Positioning Pad with Reinforced Handles 48" x 40" Lifting Turning Patient Sheet Transfer Blanket for Caregiver, Bedridden, Elderly, Black
Thank you.
Do not allow any caregiver to injure themselves 'helping.'
You may not be able to afford two aides however if one injures their self, you may be paying worker's compensation.
For a light person: roll & place 2 X slide sheets underneath full length of body (not just under head to hips as legs can be heavy & need to slide too).
Move bed so plenty of room to move behind head end. Tilt head end of bed down (need electric bed). Raise bed to your waist height. Stand behind person's head & pull on top slide sheet near shoulders, step back moving your body weight backwards to slide person up the bed.
Realign the bed height, remove slide sheet, lower bed, sit person up etc.
If a heavier person you really need 2 X assist or a hoist.
If I can find a vision clip of this I'll post it. Avoiding injuries for yourself is critical.
This has 2 people, but shows the 2 slide sheets together:
https://youtu.be/2paEgKKEK5o
Try folding a flat sheet in half and place it under the person - should be from shoulders to upper thighs. Put any incontinence pad on top of it.
2 people can move her using the sheet by rolling the sides of sheet close to person. Ask person to bend knees with feet flat on the bed. Ask person to push legs while you pull up on count of 3.
A hospital bed makes moving somebody in bed a lot easier.
1 - Raise bed up to waist height to move the person.
2 - Raise feet and lower head when moving person to head of bed.
3 - When person propped into sitting position, raise feet so that knees and feet are a little elevated to prevent sliding down.
4 - Always leave person with mattress in lowest possible position to the ground and wheels locked.
These too are intended for use by two people, as you're currently using the bed pad, but I had no difficulty at all positioning my (hemiplegic, 5'9" fully stretched out) mother by myself. Admittedly she was not especially heavy for her height but she weighed more than I did and it still took no real effort - just get your hold right and you could move a small whale on one of those things.
Also: what kind of mattress on what kind of adjustable bed? The time will come when your mother isn't able to assist positioning by rolling, turning or bridging; when that happens, caregivers need to be able to push the slide sheet under her body and through to the other side. Again no strength required, just confidence in their training and good technique.
Read through the recommendations and comments you’ve received. Consider the need for lifts and hoists and seeking ever stronger aides and your reluctance for her to be provided for because “machinery will depress her”.
Are you able to step back and embrace all of what is happening to her, and at least equally important HAPPENING TO YOU?
Sometimes, no matter what we’ve thought while things have changed around us, we have to consider the possibility of moving in another direction, even if it means at least temporarily backing away from a previous course of action.
I always thought my mother would be TERRIFIED of being placed in a lift and being showered. SHE TURNED OUT TO LOVE SHOWER DAY.
Read your question, AND THE RESPONSES YOU’VE RECEIVED, and ask yourself if you are currently considering ALL of the potential alternatives for your mother’s safe and comfortable care, and for both of your lives, moving forward.
If any moving or handling task requires above-average strength YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG, and/or using the wrong equipment.
I am female, 57, 5'4" and weigh under 120lbs (if no one has given me any violet cremes recently). Some of my coworkers are taller/heavier/men, and most of them are younger, but once trained two ordinary people of either/any sex using the correct equipment can move any individual in any domestic caregiving context without hurting or risking harm to anyone involved.
If you find an aide standing there looking helpless, send her back to the agency labelled "please train."
If you find an aide using main force to move someone, clip his/her ear.
The commonest problem with moving and handling in domestic contexts is that the designers of hoists, wheeled commodes, stand-aids and the like seem not to have been informed that many homes have this weird stuff on the floor called "carpeting." If you have a 300lb immobilised husband and a thick-piled carpet, please consider relocating at least one of them.
ZHEEYI Bed Positioning Pad with Reinforced Handles 55" x 36" Lifting Turning Patient Sheet Transfer Blanket for Caregiver, Bedridden, Elderly, Blue
ZHEEYI Bed Positioning Pad with... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B7QVSP1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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