I'm not strong enough to lift her to do anything with her once she can't help at all, which she is almost there. We have to do everything for her, get her in and out of bed. She can barely walk with her walker. I am trying very hard to keep her in her home, but I just don't know how much more I can do for her. Any suggestions?
10 Answers
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First
PT will stop if there is no improvement and or if the patient refuses therapy.
It may be at the point where you need to tell your mom that you can not care for her unless she helps herself. If she does not have the desire, the will, or the cognitive ability to help in her own therapy. Or if this is as much as she can do then you need to explore the alternative options. They would be...
Getting help into the house.
Placing your mom in Assisted Living or Memory Care, SNF, what ever setting suits her physical and mental ability.
In a living situation that better suits her abilities she would be safer and you would be as well. If you hurt yourself while helping her bathe, transfer to the toilet who will care for you? and who will care for her while you are recovering from a back injury, or a knee injury? (I am sitting here with a pretty bad knee injury and it will be 4 to 6 weeks before I am back to "pre injury status" who would care for the both of you for 6 weeks?) When we become caregivers we have to think twice about doing things just due to the fact if we injure ourselves it is 2 people that need care not just 1.
ADVERTISEMENT
Look into a "Sit-to Stand" if she can hold on to the handle it makes it so easy for you to lift her out of a chair and place her on the toilet or do a brief change while she is up. Makes it easy to transfer her from bed to chair and back.
If she can not support herself then a Hoyer Lift is the next step.
I know you are trying to keep her at home but as her mobility decreases she will need more help. Many Assisted Living will not use equipment to transfer someone and it will be a 2 person assist. When it gets problematic for that then she will need SNF there they can use equipment. So if there is a possibility that you will place her if you place her now they may keep her as she declines if you wait and she needs equipment to be moved then the only place would be SNF.