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He had 2 strokes so he has poor mobility, plus vascular dementia. He is not taking verbal or visual directions. My parents both want to remain at home. Are there smallish portable lifts? I am the sole caregiver.

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Thank you for the suggestions.
We have grab bars, etc. We even now have a chair-lift installed. The issue is my father has times when he doesn't know how to stand or is unable to take directions. Pivoting to transfer can be quite difficult. At times he doesn't even know what his hands are. He'll hallucinate. His vision is such, at times, that he can't see things that are there, or he just can't make sense of what he sees. His brain will just turn off, so to speak. He'll be OK getting into the bathroom at times, then, at times, can't get back up. His state of mind and ability fluctuate.
(He has a catheter, plus he uses adult diapers incase he has accidents or the catheter leaks.)
A small lift that a caregiver could operate without the "patient's" assistance would be helpful, not just for toileting, but for bed and chairs. (We use a transport chair with occasional walker use when he's able.) There are many options online, but I was hopeful someone would have experience with lifts and could offer advice.
Putting him in a care-center is not an option.
(Today has been a good day -- last night, not so much.)
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There are many kinds of lifts out there (try googling, something like "small portable patient lifts"), but the difficulty is that they are expensive and fussy to use in a home setting. Youtube is another great place to look, both for demos of various lifts but also for training videos on patient transfers.

I'm reaching this point with my mom now too, and while I had initially explored using a lift I've been reluctant to make that transition. Caring for someone at home with that level of disability is a whole lot more difficult and I'm not sure whether it would be the best choice for either of us.
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Dear Suzanne,

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad's condition. I know you are doing everything you can to help him. After my dad's stroke, he started to wear adult men's Depends products. He didn't seem to mind because the new styles are more like underwear. It was more like a backup system. I would look into buying a bedside portable toilet and commode chair to transfer him to the toilet. I had also installed grab bars in the bathroom he mainly used. I know its very difficult to see our parents in this condition. I hope these suggestions work for your dad.
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