Walking in the Dark

I need light to see if I am standing upright because a stroke stole my ability to feel where vertical is.  Unfortunately, my electricity goes out one or two times a year so I have learned to be afraid of the dark.  Instead of moving to a long-term care facility I put flashlights every place I sit (couch, computer, kitchen table).  My leg brace allows me to carry a flashlight in my sound so I can walk to a phone to report the outage.  However, when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night I am barefoot.  I need a quadcane in my sound hand instead of a flashlight.  A friend showed me her Energizer Folding Lantern.  It has a large handle so I can carry my quadcane and the lantern in my sound hand.  Thanks to a silvery lining this lantern is bright enough to light the few feet I need to walk to my on-suite bathroom.  

This lantern opens like a clam shell when I need to replace the batteries.  I need a big screwdriver to remove 2 screws (see small white circles) to open the battery compartment.  Searching for a screwdriver is maddening so I bought a screwdriver just for the lantern.

I keep the lantern, screwdriver, and replacement batteries next to my bed on an 8 inch wide rolling cart I found at Target.  It is the Household Essentials 3 shelf utility cart.  Before I get into bed, I place the cart where I can pull it close to me without getting up.  The lantern is on the middle shelf so I can turn it on while lying in bed.  In the dark I slide my fingers along the edge of the shelf until I feel the lantern handle.  This tells me where the on-switch is.   homeafterstroke.blogspot.com