Nifty items to get someone who has (temporarily) lost use of one arm?

October 4, 2016 11:39 PM

Mom had rotator cuff surgery and really needs to keep her arm immobilized and then even more so take it slow and easy during recovery. I'm far away and can send flowers or something, but a neat, fun, or especially practical gift item that would help her would be really nice. Suggest away! Have you had to deal with going one-handed for a while? What helped the most? Snowflakes (of course) inside.

Mom is in her 70s and has several other complicating issues that complicated the surgery. The condition of the muscles and tendons was such that the surgeon wasn't even sure if reattachment was possible. Mom really does not want to re-injure herself, but also isn't particularly good at "taking it easy."

Snowflakes:
* It is her dominant arm, so needs to use her other hand
* Also has serious essential tremor which she copes with surprisingly well, so some fine motor things are probably out, but she does enjoy sewing and has a machine
* Has a spouse who is physically able and willing to help out
* Will be having a home healthcare person in to help out a few days a week for a while
* May use this as a good time to take a break from the computer, so PC accessibility is less of an issue. Tried an iPad a few years ago but didn't care for it and returned it.
* Will not be driving for a while, but will eventually want to get back to driving if possible (suburbia), so anything that can help with that is good.
* Other limited mobility means not a lot of outdoor activities
* Enjoys her bird feeders and hummingbird feeder, sudoku, watching women's basketball on TV, and her two nutty cats.

She seems pretty good on the phone and all things considered we're pretty lucky. But, she is going to get stir crazy being limited in what she can do. Any great suggestions for items that might make things easier, reduce the stress she is eventually going to put on that arm, and help her be as independent as possible? They kind of have all the "stuff" that that a middle-class suburban American couple might have like entertainment, media, electronics, kitchen stuff, etc. They have what they want. Surprise me with something we wouldn't even think of or might not even know exists. Thank you!

Anonymous because it's my Mom's health info and someone could probably figure out it is her from my profile etc.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

I hesitate slightly to offer this, because I don't know if it actually exists or where to find it if it does. I have longed for a heavy butter dish with rubber feet or some other nonskid bottom so it will sit still when I try to cut off pieces of hard butter. In my particular circumstance, I'm holding a piece of bread in one hand trying to butter it and have to repeatedly lay the bread down to hold the butter dish with one hand while I cut off a piece of butter with the knife in the other hand.
posted by Bruce H. at 1:54 AM on October 5, 2016

When Dad broke his arm he was given a special chopping board that had a bit sticking up so you could brace your bit of bread against it. And an battery powered can-opener. Not fancy, but helps with day-to-day independence.
posted by slightlybewildered at 2:53 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Oxo makes a metal and plastic rubber dish with rubber feet.

I'd try an iPad again, one with a big rubbery case that has a handle she can grasp with one hand. They are usually bright and sold as kid tough protectors.

I'd get her a long handled grabber arm thingy. She'll want to do for her self when she still shouldn't and that will help.

Maybe a wildlife cam she can control from the iPad. And make her a YouTube account subscribed to all kinds of awesome things.
posted by tilde at 3:30 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Oxo Butter dish with rubber feet ...
posted by tilde at 4:02 AM on October 5, 2016

Electric can opener
Bar soap because liquid soap can be hard to pump
Smaller size containers of things like milk, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, etc because the big size is hard to lift
posted by areaperson at 4:59 AM on October 5, 2016

A gift certificate for a manicure, maybe even two. I recently broke my arm and that was something I really, really regretted not being able to attend to. Fortunately, my sister came over and helped out. Bonus points for a mani-pedi.

I understand she may not be able to leave the house, but many communities have people who will travel to handle this for shut-ins.
posted by Amy NM at 6:34 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

Back brush, back scratcher.

It might help to rearrange some of the furniture (nightstand?) for accessibility by the good arm. The health aide could do this. But beware of overuse of the good arm, which may cause its own problems down the road (ask me how I know).
posted by JimN2TAW at 7:16 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Bar soap that slips in a body sponge on a rope handle she can slip on her wrist.

And a shower hook.
posted by tilde at 7:52 AM on October 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

There are a variety of kitchen gadgets designed for people with arthritis; you might look into the special ice trays and nutcrackers.
posted by bq at 9:01 AM on October 5, 2016

I'd get her a back scratcher, a back scrubber and a long grabber thing (like they used to advertise on TV), and some of the above suggestions to make her life a bit easier. As for things to do, maybe a subscription to Netflix or Hulu, or Audible?
posted by jhope71 at 9:38 AM on October 5, 2016

I had finger surgery recently and had to make some purchases to make my life easier while one hand was useless. These included:

Pull on bras, sports bras - doing up bra hooks was difficult
Elastic waist pants - ditto doing up zipper flies and buttons
Pump shampoo and conditioner - my pre-injury practice was to hold the bottle in one hand while squeezing shampoo into the palm of the other hand which was not possible one handed. I got a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner to save a step and shower independently.

And then later, for driving, one of these unfortunately named spinners for the steering wheel.
posted by rekrap at 10:05 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

When my mother needed hand surgery, her coworkers set her one of those edible arrangements. I noted it was particularly well-suited for people with use of only one arm, as all the fruit is already cut up and arranged on skewers. She didn't have to fiddle with cutlery or get fruit juice on her hands. Perhaps her partner would be willing to cut up and skewer fruit for her?
posted by Soliloquy at 10:27 AM on October 5, 2016

Something to hold open a book for her would probably be wonderfully helpful in passing the time.
posted by Amy93 at 3:45 PM on October 5, 2016

When I burned my hand earlier this year and had it bandaged up for a while, I found one of these incredibly useful. It's basically a table-top beanbag. I used it to prop up my phone so I could text, to hold a bowl steady in the kitchen so I could scoop food out of it without tipping the bowl over, and basically any time I would otherwise have used my hand to hold something or steady something. Oh and I used it to hold books which is its intended purpose.
posted by girlgenius at 2:38 AM on October 6, 2016 [1 favorite]