Two broken arms -- any tips or products?

November 7, 2024 12:51 PM

My mother has broken both of her arms, and I would love to do anything I could to make her life easier. I can't be there in person (yet) but my dad is taking care of her. She has two casts and can't do anything for herself at all, including eating, going to the bathroom, brushing hair out of her face... If anyone has been through this, do you know of any tips or products that could make this slightly easier for her?

So far she can't grasp anything with her fingertips, but I think she's hoping that will be possible in the coming days. She has two slings to keep her arms elevated and take some of the pressure/heaviness off.

posted by cider to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

I have long hair that I usually keep in a braid or a bun, but when I don't have time to dry it and put it up, I wear a bandana to keep my hair out of my face, like this. If the bandana is sliding around a lot, one bobby pin or metal snap hair clip at each temple helps it stay put. For my hair / shape of my head, it works better than an elastic hair band. Your mom's head may vary.
posted by BrashTech at 1:37 PM on November 7, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Giraffe bottle for hands free drinking.

Soft, wrap style headband that doesn’t pinch to keep her hair out of her face all day. There are so many available and she probably already has a couple, but ones made with a tencel blend would be nice, very smooth and breathable.

Set up voice controls for her phone, so she can contact someone in an emergency, and also do things like turn on and off music and videos and even lights if there are any hooked up to a smart home system. This all depends on the devices in her home and her tech savviness, but if you haven’t poked around with voice controls in a few years it can be surprising how much better a lot of them have gotten.

Encourage her to get herself onto a food and bathroom schedule. That way she isn’t hollering for help every single time, but instead there are expected times for her caretakers to assist and just show up. As she changes her meds this will also need to adjust accordingly, so talk about it all frankly.

Hands free shoes are more widely available now than ever, and just knowing that she can get her own shoes on can be a mental relief. Brands to investigate include Skechers, Kizik, and Vivaia.
posted by Mizu at 1:38 PM on November 7, 2024 [6 favorites]

If she was treated at a hospital, they may have social workers who can help you with connecting them to services. Also, ask her doctor to prescribe occupational therapy, which deals with all kinds of adaptations for people with limited mobility/use of arms and legs. If she is over 65, their local senior center may have people who consult on adaptive services. One sort of off-the-wall recommendation is to put a bidet on one of their toilets that she uses and have it be one that has a pushbutton remote to start it. This will give her considerable privacy and comfort for toileting aside from having someone help her with her clothes.

This is a very difficult situation for anyone to be in, but a mature adult can often feel infantalized by needing so much care. If your mother has close female friends who can come in for an hour or so at a time during the day, that may make her more comfortable asking for assistance. Setting up a schedule where she can ask for specific things she wants will enable her to exert some control over her life. Having help with dressing, toileting, and eating are the most urgent, but also help figuring out what she can still do on her own will really help her feel more in control. Best of luck to you and your parents.
posted by drossdragon at 1:54 PM on November 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

Send a plumber to install a electronic Toto bidet!
posted by dum spiro spero at 2:03 PM on November 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

Here is a website that offers adaptive clothing options: Silverts
posted by effluvia at 3:01 PM on November 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

Speaking as someone who has had multiple simultaneous broken limbs, she should 100% have a referral to occupational therapy, which is really just "how to do everyday tasks safely in alternate ways" -- they'll help her with the everyday stuff, but also important stuff like "how to fall safely" and how to do some non standard things. They'll also be able to help with adaptive equipment that is configured specifically for her.

As her primary care for an OT referral ASAP
posted by anastasiav at 3:04 PM on November 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

This OT's information filled IG is helpful but a real OT seems essential in this situation.
posted by leslies at 3:54 PM on November 7, 2024

Best answer: +1 to the bidet suggestion. my dad broke things on both sides of his body that made going to the bathroom no longer a solo adventure, and installing a bidet was important for getting him home. we got a Toto model with an air dryer (because if you can’t wipe…). he was able to push buttons from the remote which was mounted on the wall; maybe there’s a set up that could make similar possible for your mom?
best wishes for her healing and recovery.
posted by tamarack at 10:12 PM on November 7, 2024 [3 favorites]

Can you line up some respite care for your dad? This is a lot! Sounds like she can't eat and certainly not cook, set the table, etc. Add in toileting, bathing, dressing, shopping and laundry and it just piles on. Are there people in their lives who can prepare food that only needs reheating? Offer some gift cards for food delivery? Do a Target run? Perform other chores he will be constrained from doing because he doesn't want to leave her alone?

Is there a voice-activated phone or walkie-talkie gizmo that they can use to communicate so he won't be so anxious when he needs to leave her alone for a bit so he can, for example, rake the leaves or take out the trash. Or maybe just take a walk for his own mental health!

Also agree on intense OT sessions, and you might be able to arrange home OT with her doctor/insurance approval.

The one plus is that the arms will heal so this isn't forever, and adaptations and requests for help are time-limited. Good luck to them both and to you as you try to help care for your parents.

In many situations church congregations seem to step in with meal trains and offers to help. I haven't belonged to a church in decades, but if they have a church this might be one place where there are a lot of people happy to be asked.
posted by citygirl at 4:13 AM on November 8, 2024

I had casts on both arms at once a few years ago.

Waterproof swimming casts rule. This is a standard thing for kids, and nobody thought to offer them to me. Once I had the casts changed to waterproof, it made all the difference in the world when showering.

Seconding the recommendation for Kizik shoes. They are great for stepping right into.
And Toto Washlet toilet seats are just the best under any circumstances.

Honestly, the main thing she needs is patience, because it sucks,
posted by MelissaSimon at 1:04 PM on November 8, 2024

1. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
2. BIDET
posted by neuron at 10:03 PM on November 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

Depending on your weather, a cape or cloak instead of jackets for going out in. Much easier have someone hold it and she can pop her head through, or swish it over her shoulders and wrap around her, depending on the style, than try and manage casted arms through arm holes and sleeves. Also, can be swanky looking as heck!
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 6:43 PM on November 9, 2024