Car Transfers

Today Kathy and I learned how to do a car transfer. This is wheelchair to passenger seat of the car. We practiced this in the therapy gym using an actual mock up of a car! I was a bit intimidated by this at first, but quickly found that it is very easy. In fact Kathy does almost all of the work. I face Kathy with the door behind me and guide her from the chair to the passenger seat by grabbing her pants around the belt loop area. Kathy places one hand where she is going (car seat) and one where she was (wheelchair) and just slides over. Hopefully we will get the chance to go out very soon (maybe Sunday). Leaving Kessler does require prior written authorization from Kathy's doctor. I am assuming that means a certain time to leave and a certain time to return.

Before we practiced car transfers, we practiced wheelchair to bed transfers. I had been watching the nurses do this and basically followed their lead, apparently I had been doing this incorrectly. The big difference between what the nurses do and what the therapists do, is the amount of work Kathy needs to do to accommodate the transfer. The nurses move the patients in the quickest manner, which seems to be just pick them up and move them. Kathy's therapists want me to lightly support her and make her stand up and do the transfer using as much of her own strength as possible. Kathy told me she liked the way I was doing the transfers because there was no work on her end, now that I know better that is all over!!

Once all transfer training was complete it was on to the walker again. This time no walking, just standing. The goal was for Kathy to stand up into the walker and be able to stand for a longer period of time that her last therapy session (about 45 seconds). Today Kathy was consistently standing for a full minute and even briefly took both hands off the walker and stood under her own power. This was totally awesome to see, and it surprised Kathy as well.

I am looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.