The Gift That Keeps on Giving

In the hospital my PT had me reach down with my sound hand to pick up cones sitting on a stool and stand up to place the cones on a shelf at head height.  I saw the value of this exercise when I started to wobble less as I reached down to pull up my pants at the toilet. I could not go home if I needed 24 hour assistance for toileting.  When Michelle did not have me squat in the morning,
I asked to do it in the afternoon.  After I went home activity analysis helped me identify how squatting keeps me safe during dozens of tasks.  Activity analysis is the gift that keeps on giving because it tells me WHY I WORKED SO HARD.

   I bend my knees and hips when I reach down to:
* Pull up my underwear and pants after toileting
* Pick up my cane after it has fallen on the floor for the thousandth time
* Get clothing out of the bottom drawer of the dresser
* Get shoes from the floor of the closet
* Get a milk carton sitting on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator
* Get a box of cereal from the bottom shelf of a kitchen cabinet
* Get a heavy pot from the bottom shelf of a kitchen cabinet
* Get a box of dishwasher detergent from under the sink
* Take a heavy book from bottom shelf of book case
* Plug a cord into a low electrical outlet 
* Pull clothes out of the dryer
* Use a garden hose to fill a watering can that is sitting on the ground
* Empty a waste basket
* Pickup a bag of garbage to take it to the outdoor garbage can
* Pick up purchases sitting on the floor of my car

P.S. Reaching down by bending at the waist with straight legs is hard on my arthritic low back.
homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Task Modification Never Ends

A stroke can make you stop trying when you cannot finish what you started.  For example, curbside delivery at the library is great.  I select a pick-up time on-line and a staff member brings the books out to my car.  However, I am frustrated when I get the books home.  Transporting heavy or multiple books from my car to the house with a plastic shopping bag is difficult.  The bag slips down my forearm to my wrist and falls to the ground.  I tried tucking the books in my affected armpit, squeezing them close to my chest, and walking very slowly to my front steps.  This was a nerve racking trip.

Thankfully an L.L. Bean canvas tote came to my rescue.  The stiff

canvas handles stay flat and separated.  This allows me to grab one handle to keep the tote from slipping off my forarm as I walk.  Success every time is great!    homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Qualifying for Disability Benefits

I was surprised to learn that having a stroke was not enough to establish my need for paratransit.  When I had an interview with paratransit services they asked me to give examples of why I could not take a regular bus.  My sound hand has to manage a cane and my hemiplegic hand cannot insert money in the fare box.  If I do not sit down quickly, the lurching movement of the bus would make me fall because I have poor balance.

Approval for social security disability (SSD) also required explaining how specific deficits interfered with my ability to do specific job related tasks.  Being one-handed meant I could not demonstrate or help OT students perform bimanual therapeutic techniques.  The physiatrist who filled out his section of the SSD application form was able to document my inability to perform functional tasks because he heard therapists talk about me in team meetings.  Neurologists do not evaluate or document the loss of independence that is needed to qualify for disability benefits.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

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