SAFETY FIRST Living with a chronic condition requires a lot of adaptations. The one thing you don’t want to cope with is the effects of an injury that could have been prevented. Falls are the second leading cause of death from accidents for people of all ages and more than 200,000 people suffer a fracture of the hip each year …
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House Remodeling
HOUSE SMART (REMODELING) DOORS, FLOORS, RAMPS AND REVAMPS If you are fortunate enough to be building or remodeling your home, you can include all the modifications you need to accommodate your physical condition. Most of us need to live with what we already have, but we can make alterations which do not require large expenditures. Adapting your environment can be simpler than …
Ramps
Most people are very surprised at how much space is required install an ADA (Americans with Disabilities) compliant ramp. A very strong helper can push a wheelchair up a ramp that is steeper than 1/12 (1 inch of height for every foot of length) which is the MINIMUM SLOPE allowed for a residence. Many power chairs are powerful enough to climb a …
Grab Bars
Grab bars are useful in many locations. For example, if a stairway has a chairlift, it is a good idea to place grab bars at both the top and bottom. Or, even if there is only a step up of a few inches at a doorway, a grab bar will help the disabled achieve the extra stability needed to enter …
Safety in the Bathroom
Sit down for showering. Difficulty with transfers, poor balance, and fear of falling affects people’s ability to bathe safely. For those who need to access a bathtub to bathe or shower, a bathtub transfer bench which rests partly inside and partly outside the tub enables one to sit down outside the tub and gradually slide over to the inside. Some …
Closets
Most closets are organized too high for someone in a wheelchair or for someone who is vision impaired. The best way to achieve “low oriented” closet space is to unload the closet and take out all the original shelving and hanging rods. Next the disabled person should get in front of the empty closet and describe where the clothes and …
Kitchens
CREATING A USER-FRIENDLY KITCHEN Many of us arranged our kitchen back in the days when we were physically capable, so what did it matter if we had to walk extra steps or carry heavy pots? Now, however, we have a finite amount of energy and strength, and we need to assess whether the kitchen meets our needs. Take a few …
Home Sweet Home?
Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. FACT: 90% of Americans polled said they definitely do not want to live in a nursing facility. FACT: 80% of Americans polled want to continue living in their own homes until the end. With the total of …
That Old Feeling
Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. It got their attention—our friend Mac wheeling along in his power chair, lugging three two-by-fours and a standard toilet stool into the City Council meeting. He’d been there before, our friend Mac, and had …