I’m old enough to remember the good old days when doctors knew everything, and were mightily insulted if anyone suggested otherwise. I’m smart enough now to recognize that medicine has changed plenty since then, and that it’s patients who had better know as much as possible about their own medical needs. No way a modern doctor will, or can, bring the same focus to your situation that you can and must.
Hand 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
At 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.
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Accessible Geocaching
Last 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.
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Shoehorn With a Sense of Humor
Ah, 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).
My 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.
Making 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.
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Trekinetic Comment
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.
Forget 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.
Ah, 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.