i know that i’m not too badly off with my ms but some things are way out of my reach.
like standing on one leg to put shoes on. so we adapt and find ways round it eh?
i was up bright and early, showered, dressed apart from boots. these i took downstairs to put on.
if i sit on a chair and bend over to do my boots i get a crushing headache from this cold (another sad story) so i had a brainwave and sat on the next to bottom step of the stairs. bingo dead easy and i was congratulating myself when i tried to get up and hit my head on the bannister rail
ah well it was still a good idea, i should get those bannisters sorted out
Hello Carole,and I hope your nerves are prepared for the imminent assault.No advice on putting your boots on,but it looks like I have designed and made a ‘Sock pulleroner thing’ which is like no other and actually works.I’d never realised that socks are an ordeal,'cos I haven’t worn any for seven years, 'cos they cause more pain. I occasionally wear ‘diabetic socks’ if my trotters aren’t too swollen,and I have no major probs getting them on.
A couple who have opened a’ Disability odds and sods stall ’ in Birkenhead market showed me the gear for helping with socks.Yeah right,that looks easy.They’ve got the thing I made and are showing it to a couple of reps in the new year.If it gets’picked up’ ,I feel an honorarium coming on.
Carole,what about some of that foam stuff for insulating pipes on the bannister and maybe a cunningly positioned hand rail. I do function over form every time,hence my flat is a cross between Steptoe’s Yard and Stephen Hawking’s shed.
It is doing up shirt buttons for me. I am obliged to wear a shirt and tie for work but with little feeling in my left hand it can be hell on earth doing the shirt up, a feat I can only manage with a mirror. By combing my hair and wearing a shirt I appease society but at what cost?
Hi Carole. Has an Occupational Therapist visited to do an assessment on what mobility aids you can use indoors? When getting dressed after having a shower (which I sit down on a bath board to have), I sit down on a chair to put socks on etc. I walk around indoors by holding onto a trolley.
@wobblyboy - we bought the house from a couple who used to run it as an off-licence, the wife had a stroke and so double hand-rails were put on the stairs. they don’t match and the one i broke my crown on (almost) has a metal bracket which is what i bumped my head on. i won’t need foam adding to it because i have learned to never have the same accident twice. just what lies in store next?
congratulations on your sockpulleroner gadget and when you get your honorarium i’ll crack open a bottle of baileys to salute you!
@mark - now yours is a case that is crying out for an inventor! maybe wobblyboy can look see if the stall on birkenhead market has anything.
@colin - OT have been and installed shower rails and bath board. where would i be without them?
@pat - today was a special effort because i was going to see my dad. it means a lot to him that i look as much the same as i did before. i usually put eye makeup on but today i’d been to the carol service at church and my eyes streamed so i was more alice cooper than the old me!
it doesnt half stop you taking stuff for granted doesnt it?
Hello there Mark,you’re problem is one that I solved a few years ago.My left hand feels as if it is covered in cold candle wax,so no sensitity.I took my one good white shirt to seamstress and she stitched velcro down the front on both sides,and it looked as if it was buttoned up.If you’re not happy with the look she could re-position the buttons so it looks like they’re actually doing.
There is a much more complicated and expensive solution…A Bird.
I find putting on boots very hard, even bought the type with zips up the side, slack around the calves but theyre still hard to put on due to stiffness and inability to bend in the right places. I curse and swear and often look for other places to make life easier. Think the best thing is once on, keep them on for the rest of the day, then get someone to pull them off again.
I also have problems getting out of bed, yep grab hold of the side of the mattress and heave oh, surprised I havent fallen flat on my face yet.
Girls - tights, one leg isnt too bad but the other wont play. As for shaving legs - well I miss more than I catch, so looks worse than if I had never started.
Swear at that bannister love, tell it to behave, I swear at objects which shouldnt be where they are, then remember, ‘things are sent to try us’, but I bloomin well wonder why?
The bird in question was 5"9’,38 C and a senior Care Manager.She didn’t need much training for the buttons,a shirt was usually her idea.Feathers and poo were never a huge issue,but hoovering and washing up were.
Ooh it’s more getting undressed for me. I can get my arm in but I can’t get it out, in, out, in, out …hmmm sounds like the start of a song! Lol Well you gotta laugh. Some days I remind myself of my cat chasing his tail as I try to grapple with grabbing hold of the sleeve of my cardie or top. Or I just can’t lift my arm high enough to pull my arm out. Darn annoying! Hope you don’t bash your head again. Mish x
@mish - i struggle with sleeves, usually when i’m in a public place and people who knew me before ms come over to help. i’d rather they didnt but dont want to upset them.
@neil- looks like this post will run and run. lots of useful advice for various getting dressed problems.
Seeing as how we’re having our version of the clothes Show(I cannot believe I’m doing this)heres my three penneth’ worth. I cannot do zips,so when I bought a new breathable anorak, I applied hot glue and gaffer tape,so that the zip slider thingy cannot negotiate the last 6 inches(ooh madam) and I put it on over my head.I’ve looped small cable ties through all the other zip sliders, 'cos my fingers are —cked
For trousers I’ve added 2"wide wide velcro to the bits of material that has the 'hook’n’eye things on it,so I donot have to scream and swear as I’m trying to engage them,and a cable tie through the zip slider.This is very handy as I am now 8XL
Boots are Mountain Warehouse snow boots,sizes 10-12,depending on how swollen my feet are.Velcro fastenings and toastie
Bra is one of Millets own and the thong is a doctor’s stethoscope.and hanky combo…Handy for listening to ones testicles.I wish the doctor would stop phoning up,as he wouldn’t want it back now
It’s quicker for an astronaut to go on a Space Walk than for me to get ready to play out.
poll - sounds strange but i like to fart when on the loo because it makes me pee! continence nurse said well theres only so much room in there. so farting makes room for the pee to leave!
wb - you mentioned bras, gave up on them due to the hug. luckily i’m not well endowed!
its fun sharing all our getting dressed issues innit?