If you have mobility issues...what helps you?

[wheresmymojo]

I've just got back from coffee with a friend who has told me they've been diagnosed with cancer in the bones of their pelvis.

In 3 months she's gone from feeling perfectly healthy to being in a lot of pain in her pelvis area and unable to bear any weight on it.

She's able to get around (slowly and in pain) on crutches but the mobility issues are (understandably) getting her down.

I remember being on crutches with a broken foot and it was so frustrating because you can just about get around but can't carry anything like a cup of tea or your dinner, etc.

She's also really struggling with getting in and out of the shower which is over the bath.

I thought people who have / have had mobility issues might have some ideas of what things have made your life easier?

Doesn't matter if it's just small tips...anything helps!

I used a bath bench whilst recovering from a broken leg and ankle earlier this year. You can sit on it then swing your legs into the bath and sit on it to shower .Another thing which doesn't actually help mobility but helped me early in the morning was to take up one of those insulated bottles full of boiling water at bedtime and keep coffee/tea making bits by my bed. It was really nice to have a hot drink before getting out of bed and facing the day.

DD finds being able to sit as comfortably as possible (so she can properly rest between painful moving around periods) really made a difference. In her case, that means she has a cushion behind her on our living room sofa, and she also has a foot rest so her feet are always squarely supported.

Also - cycling gloves. Nobody tells you about the blisters on your hands until you use crutches all the time.

If your friend gets in touch with her local council they may be able to send someone out to assess her and her home and advise on some simple aids like grab rails and ramps that might help. They may install these for free, but that might vary from council to council.

Does she live alone ?

If she has meds to take and needs something in her stomach first -take a banana ,oatcakes or something to bed at night so it's there to eat in the morning .Swallow meds and wait for them to work before getting up .
Heated blanket or cape www.raynaudsdisease.com/beurer-cosy-heated-cape.html Lidls sometimes sell an identical cape .

I'm so sorry though ,bone cancer is the pits .Very painful .

If her hands are strong enough to operate the brakes, you can get a trolley for moving around the house that acts as a support for walking but has a tray on in so you can move stuff around with you (I can't remember the technical term for them, sorry). Also if she is OK sitting you can get 'perching stools' which are a bit like high bar chairs to sit on in the kitchen or in the shower, so you don't have a big distance to get up from.

It is hard to step over a bath into a shower and may not be safe. When my parents had this issue, they built an extension with a shower in it that they could walk into instead.

From family - keeping clothes in bathroom to change easily. Basically coming down stairs once in the day and going up only at bedtime

Grab rails, mat inside bath etc for safety (any chance of pulling out bath & putting in a walk in shower?)

Rail if needed up any other steps in house
Yes re flask

Alexa to be able to make calls, turn lights on off, adjust heating etc

Hope others will have more suggestions x

I have mobility issues, things that have helped me include:
A wet room (with raised toilet, shower seat and lots of hand rails) this was put in with the help of a disabled facilities grant,
An electric hot water bottle,
Moving everything in the kitchen to the right height,
Buying foods that are easy to prepare eg frozen diced onion,
Wheelchair with seat cushion (sturdy one that has good suspension),
Down stairs bedroom (I had to move house for this),
OT and physio - referral for home assessment to see what specifics were needed).

Pressed send to soon, an electric bed also helps.
Grants have also helped - from my union, specific for the occupation I used to do, also could look at specific disorder charities.
Also I applied for esa and pip which means I could employ a gardener and cleaner (nothing worse than seeing dirty skirting boards but not being able to clean them!).

Thanks everyone!

Some great ideas here...

Yes, she lives alone in a flat which is great in that all rooms are on one floor but there is a flight of stairs to navigate to get into/out of the building and then the issue with the shower over the bath.

@wheresmymojo: it is possible to rent a stairlift (a friend of mine had similar issue), it’s whether flat free holders will allow it to be installed

This is a bit of a blunt question so I would not ask your friend: is it likely that the situation will improve with treatment, or is the pain & mobility difficulty now permanent?

Family have had to move to a more suitable house due to mobility issues so if that’s an eventual need it might be better to do it now while more able to cope with the move

It was the same for a friend of mine who lived in a flat, was looking into moving to a ground floor flat for access (but fortunately improved a lot with treatment)

Seeing it first hand actually made me look for a home with a downstairs bedroom & bathroom- sometimes things can change v quickly and moving house is v draining mentally and physically

Something like this ?

www.mobilitysmart.co.uk/comfy-transfer-bath-bench.html?ff=1&fp=2162&gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods81CiaHT556hpu-a7blNJ1lBuWNvx8UZ2Q20YDjn4_uBP1IdJ3oknhoC7ZwQAvD_BwE