What are some tips for lifting an elderly?

How do we ge4t qualified for Medicaid nursing home? We live in Texas and both of our incomes are counted. My husband is in need of more help and I am wearing down pretty quickly. I am still working full time and he is currently in a rehab after falling and fracturing his C2 vertebrae in his neck. He has been diagnosed about 2 or 3 yrs ago with Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy.

I am taking care of my 60 yr old sister who has dementia...she can get out of bed by herself and walks fine...she stays in bed mostly, but have to get her up to shower and change her...she resists, very suborn like a 5'8", 200 lb. 2 year old,( and I am only 4' 11") so the only way I could get her up was to put her feet on the floor between my feet, grab her wrists and pull...this is hard on both of us and bruised her wrists....I made a long strap, about 5' long and 8" wide out of doubled denim material.I slip it behind her back and under her armpits....then I can grab the ends and pull on it, instead of her wrists...may redo it some, make it wider with handles, and put it in the bed before she lays down...this would spread the pressure out more...anyone who sews at all can make one....haven't seen anything quite like it out there yet....hopes this helps someone.

Dee2- I understand a bit better your situation and wish you the best. If you have been lifting your heavy mother for two years you are flirting with disaster. As an engineer I look for solutions- for the toilet do you have handrails for her to use? There is a "liftchair for the toilet" mentioned on my website which would get her about 90% standing. Also there is a SuperPole sold by Healthcraft- would she be able to grasp a pole in front of her to stand up? The problem is more mental than physical- would grabbing a pole cue her body to stand up? Bedroom- you are lucky to have a hard floor but slings are a pain (and moving your mother around will strain you). If grabbing a pole cues her body to stand then a SuperPole or my Friendly Bed system might make bed transfers easy without straining yourself. Just throwing out ideas out as I run across this a lot- the caregiver's health becomes the more important factor as any injury there causes everything to fall apart. Good luck- and if I can help please let me know.

Friendly, if you were talking to me. my Mom has strong legs but her brain doesnt tell her what to do with them. When I lift her they slide forward. I did get the hoyer lift last Friday and I have a hard pergo floor in her room so it slide nice. Its trucky getting that sling on correctly and she is so tough to roll because she is heavy, yells , and resists against me. Oh its so nice when its on right, I have to learn this, and she needs to cooperate, lol. She hasnt walked and I have been lifting her for about 2 years, my arms are so bad I cannot lift them to roll myself over in bed, I need help. Its funny, sometimes she will give me about 25% of standing strength, but I never know when she will. One day last week I couldnt get her off the toilet and waited 40 mins until my husband got home and he helped me. I wish I could get medicare help for Mom but since she lives in our home, they assume its all up to me and wont send anyone, even with drs orders. She has no open sores, or anything other than she is completely helpless with late stage alz, copd, etc. nice huh?

The bed area is a dangerous area for the person and caregiver. I see a Hoyer lift mentioned but moving it around (especially on carpet) is tough. If she has any upper body strength you could check out Friendly Beds (even has a option for people with little/no leg strength although it sounds like she has enough leg strength to safely bed transfer without that option).

My mother in law weighed about 300 lbs and couldnt stand for more than a few seconds, she did not walk at all for 6 yrs, using her scooter and not even trying. she qualified with medicare for 36hours a wk home health care. Aside from routine visits from a nurse to monitor her and meds, she had someone every day. her 36 hrs she chose was 10am (cause she slept late) till 4pm a couple times a wk, 10 am to 1pm a couple times a wk and on sunday someone from 10am to 2pm. They made her meals, made sure she took meds, helped her with bathing, dressing, did laundry, ran errands for groceries, prescriptions, etc. It was a God send

Hi penrp4, My moms was/is like that and I got a lift chair a Sams club (online). It is great to help me get my mom up.The rehab taught me that you should put the wheelchair so that their feet are where you are going to sit them so that you lift (knees bent) turn, and down. (transfer lift) I go up under my moms armpits and give her a big bear hug and say 1 2 3 we are going to stand. I just today rented a van and got my Mom to the dr because my arms are killing me from lifting Mom for the past 18 months+ and he gave me a script for a hoyer lift. You can ask your dr or buy one on amazon.My moms late stage alz also. You have to understad that the two of you can fall together and then what? I had a friend lift her mom and they fell onto the bed gently, but the mom broke her neck, so its a dangerous thing so keep that in mind as I do ok!! I am going to get a hoyer lift now, with a commode sling opening, and am hoping for the best. Good luck

My husband has had Alzheimers for 9 years and now he is having trouble getting up and down and can't walk for very long. I have hired a caregiver, but he won't let her do anything. He only wants me to. What can I do? Has anyone ever had this problem?

You are welcome. I am so sorry that you are going through such a difficult time. Remember you are doing the best you can for your Mom. Best Wishes.

Thanks Jenn, yes I have a 3 hour woman who will help me. We will lift her as long as we can ,hate the thoughts of taking another step down in her care. She seems to sleep a lot now too, very sad.
Thank you again.

It sounds as if a hoyer would be your best option. I am so sorry you are going through this. Can you afford to bring a Certified Nurses Aide in to help you with her in the mornings?

Hi Jenn, when googling standing aides it looks like they need to assist or be able to follow direction, is that true? My Mom cannot use her hands, they are curling, and cannot understand the words "step in, hold on" etc. Does this mean this is not an option? Thank you

A standing Aide? I never heard of it, I will look into it now. She has an appointment in a month with the doctor, I just do not know yet how I am going to get her there. Thank you.

The lift is called a hoyer lift and there are mechanical and manual ones on the market. There is also a device that is a stand to aide in transferring from bed to chair. Talk to her physicians about PT & OT that can teach you how to properly transfer her.
You must learn how to properly move her or you will injure yourself!
Best wishes

Anyone out there use a Hoya Lift? My Mom is getting "almost" impossible to move. She is late stage Dementia/Alz and stands for 30 seconds here and there when I am cleaning her only.
To leave her in bed now, or get a lift, what do I do from here? I like the fact I can get her onto the toilet to bathe her, she normally does her BM on the toilet still as I am bathing her. She cannot speak either, its so sad. I would love to hear from others in my situation or in their past situation. Whats my next step, I hate the thoughts of being in bed 24/7. Thank you..

There is a device called the ELK lifting cushion that is a mat that slips under the bum of the person on the floor then inflates to lift them to a sitting position. They are about $3000 which I couldn't afford but they make another version to help get out of a bathtub for $800 which I could manage. Mangar is the manufacturer. This saved us. My mom gets too close to the edge of whatever she sits on and ends up on the floor. She doesn't hurt herself but I can't get her up. It's just me and calling for help (not 911 of course) resulted in voicemails and us laying on the floor for hours. Now I just roll her on her side, slip the mat under her and kind of hold onto her while she "inflates" ( just for stability). Best of all I can store it in her closet or under her bed. Weighs about 5 pounds and the compressor takes up less space than two shoe boxes. Best money I EVER spent!!!

You probably alreadry tried physical therepy. If not, ask her doctor to write an order for home PT. They will come to your home and try to help you with the lifting problems. You said a lift wouldn't fit in her room, but maybe the Physical Therapist can show you some adaptations you can make. Also, an Occupational Therapist can provide help with any home adaptations or needed equipment. Best wishes to you and your mom.

Oh your Poor Mom, she must feel devastated and like a burden, poor thing, I cant imagine needing so much help. Please give her an extra hug from me tonight!!
MY friend has a hoya (sp?) lift that she cranks. It takes two to get her in and out of bed so she gets paid help each morning and evening thru medicaid. They will not pay for an electric one thou, she has to crank it. She gets her mom washed and dressed every morning at 4am, then herself for work, then her help comes and she goes into the chair and into the van for daycare each day. Its got to be so hard but her mom was in a nursing home and she took her out. She is a dedicated wonderful daughter and her momis so lucky. good luck.

Please be very careful. I lifted my mom several years ago and tore something in my hip joint. It took seven years and several doctors for one of them to decide that I had a labrum tear in my joint. That was the reason for my limping and pain for all of that time. I had always been told by doctors that I had a lttle arthritis and that was the cause of the pain. How wrong they were. I had surgery and then fell about eight weeks later and there was pain again. I had been rushing around to get my mom something in a hurry, it was my fault. But, then I had pain another two years until I finally went to a different surgeon who informed me that my hip was now gone. I had to have a total hip replacement at 55. I can't lift over 20-25 lbs now.

I understand what you are facing. I found out, quite by accident, that Medicare will pay for a lift if it takes two people to lift someone. My mom falls frequently--she is heavy and has no leg strength to help get herself up. Her doctor had to write the order of course, but the lift is sitting in my livingroom righ now. I hope this helps. Diane