We are desperate to try to take my Dad, who has MS, to a family wedding. This will involve about 4-5 hours of driving. He is immobile now and we use hoists at home to get him from bed to chair. We do have a wheelchair adapted car that we can get him in and out of easily but he does fatigue very quickly when sitting up in the wheelchair and I worry about pressure sores if he stays in one position for so long.
Does anyone have any experiences they could share with how they’ve managed similar situations. We have had a number of thoughts, such as private ambulance/stretcher hire but so far my google searches have not shown up any companies at all offering this kind of service surprisingly unless it’s for medical reasons! Another thought would be whether there were places that could provide a bed (and a hoist) for a short period of time, so we could lie him down, change position, and rest for a couple of hours on the way up.
Hi, I found your post interesting, as I am much the same condition as your dad…have to sit then lie down to recover from sitting a long time. Sounds crazy I know! I also use a hoist.
I wish I could offer some advice…i have recently been researching hotels which provide hoists, electric beds, roll in showers, commodes.
These establishments are there, but take some hunting out.
I am finding more and more I have to tailor my outings and also miss out on things i`d really like to do, just because of sitting/lying down problems.
What is to be your route? I`d like to do some searching for you, if you dont mind.
I and 2 carers are going to Blackpool in May, to a hotel that has everything i need. it isnt what i would call very expensive, but their transport is.
Thank you so much for your reply, it really does surprise that there are not companies (that are easy to find anyway) that offer stretcher transport!! We will be traveling from near poole in Dorset to somewhere near stoke.
Had a look at a map and see Gloucester is about half way between Poole and Stoke.
Unfortunately nothing came up when I asked for hotels with hoists. I perused a few.
Just wondering if you could hire a portable hoist from somewhere in your area (again, it will probably take some finding, but worth a try) and then maybe rent a motel room close to motorway/main roads.