Advice on getting 88 yr old into a car/sedan who can't lift her feet.

June 18, 2013 3:57 PM

We will be needing to drive an elderly relative to various locations over the next few months to help her find and relocate into a new retirement home.. She has had extensive spine surgery and is unable to life either foot up more than about one inch and maybe not even that. I have been looking for a temporary device (under $100.00) that we can use on these occasions but have no idea what to look for. She uses a walker - refuses a wheelchair. She's tried the "bottom in first" then swinging her feet in but that still involves lifting them. She used to be able to do that but no more. Maybe the only solution is to get a cab with sliding doors that opens down on the street level and she follow behind us in the cab but that would be expensive and time consuming as we would have to have the cab wait while she is inside being interviewed, taken on inspection, etc.
posted by Tullyogallaghan to Health & Fitness (15 answers total)

Can you load her in the car using the "bottom in first" method, then physically lift her feet and swing them in for her? I mean, once she's sitting in the car with her feet out of the car, can you bend over, gently take her ankles and swing her around so her feet are inside of the car? That's what we did with my grandmother.
posted by infinitywaltz at 4:00 PM on June 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

Can you lift her feet for her?
posted by thinkpiece at 4:02 PM on June 18, 2013

Well, that is what I was going to suggest too.
posted by Cranberry at 4:06 PM on June 18, 2013

Use a transfer board. They're simple and fairly cheap (heck, you could probably make one). Put an armless chair (like a kitchen chair or a folding chair--it works much better if the chair is slightly taller than the car seat) next to the car seat and have her sit in it. Then slip the board so it's partly under her bottom and partly on the car seat. She slides right into the car.

We had one for my grandmother and it made car trips much less stressful.
posted by lovecrafty at 4:07 PM on June 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

They make these little swivel cushions for this reason. You put it on the seat, help her sit on it, then lift her legs for her, and help her swivel into the car. It's easier than just pushing them in yourself, although that can be done too.

This little 'Handybar' is great for the car too. It wedges into the frame of the car (door jam) and provides a point of leverage and support for the passenger.
posted by barnone at 4:26 PM on June 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks. This is really a big problem as she has gained a lot of weight over the last year,too. I will do more research on all these ideas. I'm not sure about lifting her feet for her as she usually hollers loudly if anything affects her spine even a little bit. She's got like an oil derrick in there. I've seen the x rays.
posted by Tullyogallaghan at 4:52 PM on June 18, 2013

This won't help with getting her in the car, but could you maybe pre-check the retirement homes without her? Maybe you could at least eliminate a bunch from the 'possibles' list, which would reduce the total number of trips you'll have to make WITH her.

(And yeah: lifting her feet in for her is your best bet.)
posted by easily confused at 5:06 PM on June 18, 2013

Be very careful, our friends family member was in a similar situation and ended up with broken spine due to very brittle bones and this type of in an out of car doors.

Getting them and out of a sedan caused serious damage.

Are you in a place you can get a zipcar van?
Are in a place that has a handicapped van service?
posted by bottlebrushtree at 5:11 PM on June 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Many (or most?) retirement homes will have a van with a wheelchair lift. If your relative would consent to the temporary use of a wheelchair, just to make these visits, and if the retirement homes aren't far away, you could ask if they could send a van for her.
posted by Snerd at 5:36 PM on June 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

I would suggest looking for a medical transport company. In some areas, the local ambulance crew will do it. In other places, there are private companies that will do that job. No, it's not going to be cheap, but that's because they are licensed and insured and all the good things you would like in a company that moves people who are ill.
posted by plinth at 6:01 PM on June 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

She could use a device with a handle at one end and a foot stirrup at the other to lift her own feet into the car. I've seen them but I'm not sure what they are called.

Prechecking the retirement homes is going to save everyone a lot of trouble here. If she wants to move in soon, start screening on the phone to see if they have a waiting list.
posted by yohko at 6:46 PM on June 18, 2013

It sounds like it's not the inability to lift her own feet that's the biggest problem, it's that physically lifting her feet by any means causes her pain or discomfort. Am I interpreting your comment correctly?

You may be limited to finding a van with a lift. If she refuses a wheelchair, even temporarily, she may be able to ride the lift up while standing, then stoop to walk in with her walker. But the transportation company may not be insured for that - they may require use of a wheelchair.

I agree with easily confused. If you have the time, check out your list of retirement homes without her in advance, just quickly enough to build a short list. While there, ask each one if they can provide assistance with transporting your relative.
posted by WasabiFlux at 7:01 PM on June 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

You could rent a minivan from a regular car rental place. Might be more convenient than hoping for an acceptable taxi to appear.

You could also give her one of those heavy duty straps they use for physical therapy and have her lift her own legs so it's not as painful for her.
posted by gjc at 7:39 PM on June 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I would suggest looking for a medical transport company. In some areas, the local ambulance crew will do it. In other places, there are private companies that will do that job. No, it's not going to be cheap, but that's because they are licensed and insured and all the good things you would like in a company that moves people who are ill.

A much cheaper option would be a disability transit service. I don't know where you are, but in Los Angeles it's called Access, and in Chicago it's called Chicago Disability Transit. It's like a bus, and it charges similar fees (a lot less than the hundred dollars or so a trip that you'll pay for medical transport). The downsides: you have to get qualified, which can take a few weeks, and it's more like "public transportation for people with disabilities" than "taxi service," so sometimes you'll have to wait a while for the bus or van to show up, so it's a lot less convenient than some other options.
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:45 PM on June 18, 2013

Not sure if this would be enough, but it helped my father after he was in the hospital and had a lot of back and knee pain: Handybar
posted by dripdripdrop at 6:57 AM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]