<p>Anyone have experience in patient lifts? </p>
<p>DW is afraid that I will pull my back or other injury when moving/lifting invalid FIL. I have to agree with her.</p>
<p>One of my friends’ D became a licensed Physical Therapist (she was young and very healthy), but had to re-evaluate her career because many of her patients were VERY HEAVY (often including morbidly obese folks). It IS very important in considering appropriate equipment so as NOT to injure yourself when moving your FIL. (We are not as young as we once were and our backs & other body parts need to be protected.)</p>
<p>You can check with your FIL’s insurance and/or medicare to see what his insurer will cover, as patient lifts ARE covered durable medical equipment. You can also check your yellow pages for medical equipment companies and then go down and ask to see and have demonstrated the various equipment they should have in stock for this purpose. You can also visit nearby senior centers, rehab places and nursing homes to see what they have and recommend.</p>
<p>My friends used a sling-type hoist that was sort of like a crane, or so they described it to me.</p>
<p>I agree with your wife. You really don’t know how long you will be caring for FIL and the more things you put in place, the easier it will be on you physically. We used a number of devices with my FIL, some worked really well, others not so much. It pays to visit a quality medical supply place and see all of the possibilities. Some things were covered by medicare, others were not, but we felt if it made our lives easier, it was worth it.</p>
<p>We had a lift chair that was really helpful. It made it a lot easier to get him in his chair. We also had two poles installed (they are designed to be removed without any difficulty if they are no longer needed). We had one pole next to his chair, and one next to his bed. I have never seen anything like this anywhere else, but we saw them in a medical supply store and they were great. If someone has any arm strength, they can help themselves as you are assisting them.</p>
<p>Another device we really liked was a tub chair powered by water. It swiveled out so that FIL could get seated, then once he was comfortable, he swiveled back around and was lowered slowly into the tub.</p>
<p>We had a hoyer lift -that didn’t work real well for our purposes. It didn’t move that well over carpeting, it just didn’t suit us. FIL had a craftmatic bed, so we would get him in an upright position, swivel him around, and help him to his chair.</p>
<p>Actually, my MIL used a wide belt to help her move him - wasn’t sophisticated, but it worked. Before buying anything, it really helps to analyze movements. DH and I would sometimes rehearse something to see how it would work or to see if there was a better was of facilitating the move.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>worknprogress, your p.m. box is full. Would you mind explaining how the pole by the bed is set up? I’m trying to help a woman get back to independant living and the only issue holding her back, is her inability to get into and out of bed.</p>