Hello,
I'm looking for advice as I think through possibly buying my mom an electric bed and/or electric recliner. I'm curious if anyone here has had any experience with either.
My mom is petite 4'11 and she has arthritis, incontinence, and moderate dementia.. She has trouble getting in an out of chairs because of the arthritis in her knees. I want to get her an electric recliner, but I worry about not being able to clean the urine out of a chair - she has near daily accidents. I'm curious if anyone here has figured out how to set up an electric recliner for accidents. I put down bed pads for her, but I'm afraid of her sliding out of the chair when the chair is moving to a standing position. Also, I am concerned that, as the dementia progresses, she might make errors in working the lift controls.
In addition, I'm considering buying an electric bed that raises and lowers (so I can figure out the ideal height for her for getting in and out of bed by herself). She needs a bedside bar to grab to help her get out of bed. I'm thinking the reclining feature would help her rest her back. She often sits on the side of her bed (her room is very small) to read and pray and sometimes her back hurts - there isnt any back support for her on the bed. We are going to try a stadium chair for her to sit on in the bed to see if that helps until I am able to figure out an electric bed.
I have tried so many different chairs for her, and none are at the perfect height with the perfect back support. Her legs dangle off the side of the chair and it digs into her thighs. I have found a nice queen anne chair with arms that help her to get in and out, but the height is still too tall. sigh.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
I know medicare does cover beds. Again a good resource is a medical supply and you will need a doctors prescription. They dont all carry the same products so ask detailed questions on demensions and adjustments. The first company I worked with delivered a manual adjustment bed. I sent it back and went to another company.
If you find a good medical supply and give them your doctors name and phone and fax numbers they can expedite for you.
You can find online replacement chair legs in a shorter length. Also a wood worker could shorten legs for you. Due to the pain in her knees my dad had to raise furniture to a height that was easier for my mom to sit and rise from. In later years she used her wheelchair when she sat at the kitchen table. Otherwise she used a lift chair. Her hospital bed was too high for her the last year or so. We had to remove the rollers. That would be the problem for your mom. The beds will probably be too high. A low profile twin bed with a good mattress and waterproof mattress cover might be better for her.
Frequent trips to the bathroom and proper disposable underwear would help save the furniture as well as protective pads. With knee pain your mom may be putting off those trips. So a bathroom schedule may be helpful to get ahead of accidents.
I hope this helps.