My grandmother has recently become immobile from cancer in her spine. My aunt is taking care of her full time at her house but she is having much more difficulty changing my grandmothers diaper due to the fact that she cannot stand up anymore. My mom is having to go over there daily to help, but she has a full-time job that is very busy and this is extremely stressful for her right now.
My grandmother seems to have lost control of a lot of her movements and is very heavy deadweight when my aunt is trying to change her. An additional challenge is that she broke her right arm so she cannot be rolled over on that side.
What would be the best way for my aunt to change her? She just got a adjustable hospital bed, but she is having difficulty with the weight. And the fact that she cannot be rolled over on her right side.
Are there any specific techniques or helpful devices we could use/get to make this easier for my aunt to do on her own???
Thanks!
I'm physically disabled and it's hard for me, but I've learned a technique.
First of all, I'd like to say the Hoyer Lift has not been any help in this specific situation. I've tried "draw sheets" but they're too hard for me to pull. They do have large cloth underpads that are about 4 feet long and are quilted/waterproof/washable. They are nice when they are under her to help move her for changes. You grab the sides of the underpads and can roll her over. My Mom doesn't like them, though. She says they make her itch, so we stopped using them. sigh.
So, here's what I do:
She lays in the hospital bed with her head partially up, feet down. I am able (with difficulty) to push her onto her side that has her good arm. She can't ever lay on the bad arm. It's hard, but it's all about the positioning in the hospital bed. Having the head part up a bit (not a lot) and the feet part flat makes it easiest for me. I have to push her back and forth for changing/washing.
This was easiest when I used the cloth underpad as a draw sheet to pull up and roll her over with. That is my best recommendation.
I've never had help available to do this, and I empathize because it's a hard thing to do.
Edited to add: There are You Tube videos that demonstrate turning patients in bed. The hard part is finding the ones that show just one person doing the work. Most recommend two people, and that's what most of the videos show. Keep searching until you find one that someone made at home, from a Caregiver and not a company. They usually have just one person and have been very helpful to me.
I hired an aide(who knew how to properly lift a patient with a gait belt)to come every morning to put him on the bedside commode so he could poop. Now my husband had a supra pubic catheter, so my only concern was when he had to poop.
When he was done the aide would hold my husband up while I would clean him up and put a clean diaper on him. It was so much easier than trying to change him in the bed.
Perhaps hiring someone to come several times during the day would be a worthwhile investment, although you would have to find someone not associated with an agency, as they have a 3-4 hour minimum. They are out there, you just have to search. I got the name of my aide through Senior Services, as she used to work for them and was at that time out on her own.
I wish you the very best.
1) They have to be laying flat on the bed (I'm going to assume your aunt has a hospital bed. Make sure it's raised to a level where no one is bending down. That is to protect your back).
2) Unfasten the tapes of the diaper and roll the long flap ends inwards as far as you can on both sides. Then fold the front portion of the diaper down to under her crotch (try to keep as much of the load contained as you can).
3)Turn the patient to one side (you may need another person to hold them up). Then clean them up and roll that portion of the diaper under them towards the other side as much as possible. Then roll them onto the opposite side and remove the whole diaper. Clean her up and put on a new diaper.
4) Putting on a clean diaper is the same procedure. Lay it flat. Roll one side up tight (about half way). Turn patient on side. Slide diaper under them as far as possible. Turn to other side and repeat.
Do not try to change a soiled diaper while sitting her on a toilet or standing her up. Changing her flat on the bed is the easiest and safest way for everyone involved.
As far as bed pads here is the best one I have found...
https://www.mipinc.com/products/categories/underpads/patient-care-underpads/fusion%C2%AE-underpads.html?classid=75&searchString=pad
This website is not a retailer but you can learn more about the pad then know what to look for when you search online for a distributor. You can google "fusion bed pad" and there are several websites you can compare prices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Js4atWSJu0