Categories
At Home Everyday Gear

Dining Utensils for People Whose Hands Tremble

Image of a Weighted Dining ForkHand tremors can make eating an insecure business, and mealtimes frustrating and unrewarding. When trembling is not too severe, weighted tableware can make dining a more pleasant experience again, instead of a discouraging struggle. This fork is part of a standard set of four pieces (fork, knife, teaspoon, soup spoon). Each piece can be bought individually, or the four can be purchased as a set.

This tableware looks very much like standard silverware — an advantage for people who may be self-conscious about using a dining aid. The individual pieces are a bit thicker than ordinary utensils — one-quarter inch high by one-half inch wide. Each weighs 7.5 ounces; heavy enough to sooth mild tremors, but not too heavy for most people to eat with. The set’s stainless steel and dishwasher-safe.

Weighted Utensils at Dynamic Living

Categories
At Home Everyday Gear Nursing Home

Walker That Folds Compactly

Pilot WalkerAt some point during the time when my dad used a cane, it became essential to get a walker to use when we went out. Sometimes he had to walk a little further than he comfortably could with his cane, and sometimes we were in situations when he really needed to sit for a while. Having the walker made that possible.

Categories
Games/Recreation High Tech Travel

Accessible Geocaching

Image of a Garmin GPSLast year my husband acquired another a new handheld device (as if he needed another one!) — a GPS, also known as a Global Positioning Device. If you’re not too concerned about privacy and freedom and stuff like that, you may have one in your car.

Categories
At Home Everyday Gear Gifts

Shoehorn With a Sense of Humor

IKEA Omsgorg ShoehornAh, IKEA, how did we ever manage without you? On our last visit we picked up another one of those basic essentials for good living — a long-handled shoehorn. No household is complete without one — but IKEA, as ever, carries the idea one (dare I say it?) step better: This shoehorn is a serpent. Turn it so that the hook faces you and you’ll be looking directly into the snakely visage. A shoehorn with a sense of humor — it’s what the world needs now.

Omsorg Shoehorn at IKEA (it’s on the Singapore site, but in stock, this week at least, in Plymouth Meeting in the good old US of A).

Categories
Nursing Home Reflections

Therapeutic Recreation For Those Who Will Not Play

Image of Interlocked HandsMy dad is gradually recovering from his recent hospital stay, and the recreation department at his nursing home and I are once again frantically trying to figure out what we can do to keep him engaged both in social activities and in anything that will keep him using, in particular, his hands and his mind in ways he’s not used to.

Categories
At Home DIY Everyday Gear Home Modifications Wheelchairs

A Better Baby Crib for Parents Who Use Wheelchairs

Sitting in a Skinner Air CribMaking life better and easier sometimes requires looking at things you accept as perfectly ordinary parts of life and considering them from a completely different perspective. This post is about one of those things — the baby crib you may have slept in when you were little, and the one you may be considering using for your own child.

Categories
High Tech Wheelchairs

Trekinetic Comment

Happy Person in a Trekinetic Wheelchair Mike Spindle, from Trekinetic, has responded to my post about the Trekinetic K-2 All-Terrain wheelchair. He writes:

. . . yes the customers do love it!

Some are in use as everyday chairs in countries as diverse as UK, Ireland, Wales, India, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Belgium, Australia and Africa.

It’s not just for offroad — with smooth tyres the FWD is fast too!

He also sent the excellent photo you see above. ‘Nuff said — a picture’s worth, etc., etc.



		
Categories
Clothing

Stylish Swing Coat for Women Who Use Wheelchairs

Swing CoatForget the poncho — here’s a coat for Everywoman. It can look youthful and kicky, but it also has that undefinable touch of class, too. Take it to the mall or out to dinner — add the hat, and you’ve got an ensemble that would be at home in better theaters anywhere.

Fleece, with a soft, light, high collar, rollback sleeves, and pockets, too. The back overlaps and closes with Velcro.

Jealous because you want one, but don’t use a wheelchair? Fear not, Buck and Buck also offers it as a standard coat.

Categories
Travel Wheelchairs

Buying a Used Accessible Van – Part 7, The Purchase

Van - Side ViewAh, the Internet. The previous owners of my dad’s van live in a rather isolated hamlet of 400 or so citizens in a tiny county far from — well, most things. Including, significantly, a large market for a used accessible van. I couldn’t find a van in my densely populated suburban haven, but the World Wide Web rendered this geographic disparity irrelevant. Our sellers managed to sell a van they had nearly dispaired of getting rid of, and I acquired one I was beginning to dispair of finding.

Categories
At Home Home Modifications Nursing Home

Anti-Slip Traction Strips to Prevent Falls

Commercial Traction StripsMy dad has a serious problem with falling, and a worse one with recognizing how much danger this represents to him. Because he doesn’t acknowledge his physical difficulties in this area, working around this limitation is a high priority for everyone who cares for him.