15 replies to this topic

[purple_faeries]

hello again

Similar to my last post, I am needing help on how best it is to try and dress myself. At the moment I am unable to do it (apart from tops of course), and I would really really like to be able to do it myself so I can be more independant. As usual my physio has not said anything on how to do it, she just said that she would contact the ot for aids which is not what i was wanting lol.

How do I go about starting to dress myself? I have an electric bed but I can't sit myself up by myself.

Any help you could give would be most appreciated


Thank you

Hannah

[Apparelyzed]

Dressing is usually teached by an occupational therapist.

It may be worth seeing if you can get your doctor to get you refered to an occupational therapist at a rehab unit, as they will be able to show you techniques on how to get dressed.

Simon.

[Ches]

Why havent you been taught? I cant remember your situation, sorry.. please feel me in?!

Just go find some para chick at a gym, stalk and watch her in the locker room! J/k

Its really hard to type out the methods, but they are quite simple once practiced,, maybe try youtube? Or even the opening scene of MurderBall when the infamous Zupan puts on his shorts.. I think thats pretty much the standard for getting dressed in the chair.

Some people prefer getting dressed in the bed, I personally like the chair. Thats something you're gonna have to figure out too! Where to start?!

[edlee]

I'm not sure of your injury level, except that you say "para". Even knowing that, it's still hard to say what you "should" be able to do. Learning to sit up on the bed would be the first thing to learn. After that the rest is fairly rouyine.

Your balance needs to be good enough, whether in bed or in your chair, to lean forward and get the garment around your feet.

My OT, in rehab, got me onto a large exercise ball (like a beach ball on steroids), and it was my job to stay upright. Trust me when I say that it took a while to get the hang of it. Makes sitting up on the bed or floor, a piece of cake.

What you learn and how fast you learn it, will vary with the person. Start with the balance and sitting up,,, the rest will come.

be well
ed

[Worldbeater62002]

How is your arm usage Hannah? I prefer to do it in bed, as you have much more weight on the bottom part of you while in the chair, making it more difficult to tug up your pants/underoos. Can you roll yourself? And fairly well? That's an important step to learn.


Hope you're rocking it!


-Daniel

purple_faeries, on Jul 13 2009, 05:05 AM, said:

hello again

Similar to my last post, I am needing help on how best it is to try and dress myself. At the moment I am unable to do it (apart from tops of course), and I would really really like to be able to do it myself so I can be more independant. As usual my physio has not said anything on how to do it, she just said that she would contact the ot for aids which is not what i was wanting lol.

How do I go about starting to dress myself? I have an electric bed but I can't sit myself up by myself.

Any help you could give would be most appreciated


Thank you

Hannah

[gordonr]

Ches, on Jul 13 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

Why havent you been taught? I cant remember your situation, sorry.. please feel me in?!

Just go find some para chick at a gym, stalk and watch her in the locker room! J/k

Its really hard to type out the methods, but they are quite simple once practiced,, maybe try youtube? Or even the opening scene of MurderBall when the infamous Zupan puts on his shorts.. I think thats pretty much the standard for getting dressed in the chair.

Some people prefer getting dressed in the bed, I personally like the chair. Thats something you're gonna have to figure out too! Where to start?!

Hi Ches,

I am really surprised that you dress routinely in your chair. You identify as a t4, is that complete or no? I am t4-5, complete, and altough I CAN get my pants up in the chair, I find it ridiculously difficult compared with just rolling back and forth in the bed, or on the floor of my van.

Of course I am not disputing your choice, but I am trying to explain the difference to myself. Weight might be another factor. And especially the relation of strength to weight. Maybe height as well.

I am not superman, but I am not a wimp either. I am six feet and about one eighty. I can haul my bulk around, but it is work. Do you do a lot of transfers up from the floor? Is it really easy for you?

Best Regards,

Gordon

P.S. I have some sugestions for your bath, So more later.

[E-DOG]

What I gather from her previous posts, Ches weighs about 20 pounds and has an upper body like Arnold Schwatzennegger only a lot stronger. She can transfer with only one hand from chair to floor to toilet, bouncing back and forth like a chimpanzee on coke. Obviously superhuman in strength and agility she is somehow able to change clothes in a complete drunken stupor while riding a bicycle backwards all while e-mailing Trinity the results of her latest in home pregnancy test. Which were of course negative, again, for the three hundred and forty third time. This year.

Which is to say, I wouldn't pay too much attention to what lil' Cheslita sez. She can do the impossible, and make it look easy as hell. And look terrific doing it.

I sit on the edge of the bed to put my pants on. It's easier to roll from side to side that way. I can also grab my foot and pull it up almost to my crotch to put shoes and socks on. Weighing in at a rather "big boned" 340 odd pounds or so, my OT at the VA thought it was amazing I could do so. Loose limbered I reckon.

If indeed you're a para, as oppossed to a quadsie you should be able to push yourself up from behind till you can grab something to pull yourself up to a seated position. From there, using your arms, hands, a push stick, force them lil' leggies off the bed one at a time till they're dangling over the edge.

Most O/T's will give you an idea how to do things, but they won't give you a whole lotta details. They want you to figure out for yourself the best way to get shit done because every one and every one's injury is so different.

Improvise, adapt, overcome!

You wake up tomorrow morning and everyone on the planet's dead, no one's there to get advice/help from, you gonna survive and thrive? Or you gonna dry up and die from lack of food and attention?

E-dog

[Ches]

As we all know EDOG obviously has a few screws loose. I'm fairly small, but no way am I stronger than you guys pound for pound.

You dont need great balance to figure it out, I was doing it just a few months out of the hospital..
I'm going to try my best to describe this for you; For the most part, until you feel like u can safely sit up, just scoot your butt down and slouch some in the chair. For me its easiest to grab my pants, pick up a leg and get my pants on and instead of putting it back on the foot plate Id rather it be out in front of me (if u spasm, u may just wanna hold on to ur chair while ur leg freaks out for a sec - I call it the rodeo) And then the same for the other leg, now its just a matter of getting your pants up.. I can remember this being the hardest in the beginning, I think I figured out what was easiest for me is to bunch up my jean at the top, pull up a leg at a time and get them under my ass. Of course they are going to be all rolled up and seem impossible at this point, and youre probably going to be on the verge of sliding out of the chair but luckily that helps. Its really a matter of shifting your weight side to side at that point all while simultaneously getting a good grip in the back of ur pants and pulling up, back and forth.

I cant lie that sounds like a lot of work, and in the beginning it took more time than it was probably worth.. I would get exhausted or stuck and cling on to counters or anything just to get the leverage I needed.. But now I swear its a peice of cake, and its not impossible.

Contrary to what EDOG said I suck at most things handicap. But Im pretty good at the pants things, he was right there ;)

Hope that helps...


And a P.S. here, Angela can testify.. I was with a quad chick (she had semi use of hands) getting dressed one day and she asked me to stop and show her what I was doing cause it seemed much easier, so of course I did and even she said it was something she could definitely pull off with a little practice.

Edited by Ches, 13 July 2009 - 11:04 PM.

[JesseB]

I also get dressed in my chair, it's alot quicker.

Pants/shorts wasn't to hard, all I do it scoot up a little bit in my chair, lean back, and reach back behind under me and pull the up.
(after you put them on half way of course)

But sometimes I do get dressed in bed on the lazy days. But over-all I choose the chair.

Edited by JesseB, 13 July 2009 - 11:37 PM.

[wheeliebear75]

I call it "the gimpy jig"......cuz my feet start twitching out a little Irish jig.

I must say I'm dumbfounded at what they don't both teaching. (the bad mood is not towards the poster it is towards to medical community/retards who let people go home without the sufficient knowledge).

The 2 main ways I get my pants on are:
#1 while sitting in bed bend forward & get the legs through, pull up to about knees or lower thighs, lean to the left & pull up on the right side of the pants, lean to the right & pull up on the left side of your pants, keep doing this until they're on.
#2 bend forward so that I'm kind of laying in my lap, get the legs through the pant legs, pull to just above knees to where my weight starts to impede, I use the wheels to push up on & I loop my fingers in the waist & lift myself into the pants.

[jules]

I pretty much use the same technique as Ches, I found I needed to be able to get dressed in my chair to be able to to go to the gym and especially swmming, I got some funny looks in the changing rooms in the gym the first few times, but they are all used to me now! It's not the most elegant but works fine for me.

[russ1]

gordonr, on Jul 13 2009, 09:37 PM, said:

Ches, on Jul 13 2009, 06:19 PM, said:

Some people prefer getting dressed in the bed, I personally like the chair. Thats something you're gonna have to figure out too! Where to start?!

Hi Ches,

I am really surprised that you dress routinely in your chair. You identify as a t4, is that complete or no? I am t4-5, complete, and altough I CAN get my pants up in the chair, I find it ridiculously difficult compared with just rolling back and forth in the bed, or on the floor of my van.

Of course I am not disputing your choice, but I am trying to explain the difference to myself. Weight might be another factor. And especially the relation of strength to weight. Maybe height as well.

I am not superman, but I am not a wimp either. I am six feet and about one eighty. I can haul my bulk around, but it is work. Do you do a lot of transfers up from the floor? Is it really easy for you?

Best Regards,

Gordon

I'm T2 complete and regularly dress in my chair, although it's marginally easier on the bed if I'm already there. If I'm in the chair already I'll dress in the chair. It's just practice, three or four years ago I'd have agreed with Gordon, now I'm more with Ches. I'm over six feet and about 180 too and not nearly as strong as I should be. It's really just about being comfortable leaning over sideways, the further you lean the easier it is. It's a bitch with armrests or even sideguards in the way.

[E-DOG]

Ches, on Jul 13 2009, 04:00 PM, said:

As we all know EDOG obviously has a few screws loose. I'm fairly small, but am stronger than you guys pound for pound.
EDOG said I suck things pretty good he was right there ;)

Me and loose screws eh?
You're the one who does an in home preg. test every few hours, not me.

And the above? No words were added, just a little light back spacing and deleting. Which means the message was already there, ya just had to find it.

there was once a lil' lady name ches
who had a blow up doll she called wes
she'd fill him with hot air
and shave off all his hair
then make him put on a pink dress.

talent can be found in such strange places, no?

E

[Ratticis]

if i get dressed in my chair i usually end up w/ my pants/boxers about 1/2 way up my ass. Mind you, no1 can see it anyway, but still . . .

[Ches]

E-DOG, on Jul 14 2009, 02:26 PM, said:

Ches, on Jul 13 2009, 04:00 PM, said:

As we all know EDOG obviously has a few screws loose. I'm fairly small, but am stronger than you guys pound for pound.
EDOG said I suck things pretty good he was right there ;)

Me and loose screws eh?
You're the one who does an in home preg. test every few hours, not me.

And the above? No words were added, just a little light back spacing and deleting. Which means the message was already there, ya just had to find it.

there was once a lil' lady name ches
who had a blow up doll she called wes
she'd fill him with hot air
and shave off all his hair
then make him put on a pink dress.

talent can be found in such strange places, no?

E

HAHAHA .. OH EM GEEE ....

[kate42]

Like Russ said, if I'm already in my chair then I'll put my pants on in my chair, by pushing myself up on one arm so my behind isn't resting on the seat and pulling my pants up with the other. However, if it's in the morning, for example, and I'm in bed, I find it marginally easier to get my pants on while on the bed.