I take care of my Mom who had a stroke 2 yrs ago. Left side paralysis, unable to walk & just barely able to stand (probably should say can't stand). I have a hired caregiver during the day while I work. Up until this point we have been handling transfers from bed to wheelchair to toilet, etc. Over the past year, it has become increasingly more difficult to lift her and we are seriously in danger of hurting our own backs or injuring my Mom. So... I've contacted our medical eqpt provider & they are bringing a hoyer lift Monday. It's what Medicare will cover (rental). I know very little about them. But after exploring lifts on the internet, I'm overwhelmed. I'm sure this hoyer is very, very basic... I know that it's hydraulic rather than electric. I'm going to give this a fair shot, but if it doesn't meet our needs, I guess I'll have to consider shelling out some majorly big bucks for something better.

For a bath, we've been using a tub bench. Mom always loved her baths & if I could get a lift that could get her down into the tub & out again, she would think she had died & gone to heaven! I'm also concerned about the sling that will come with this hoyer & how well it's going to work with the toilet. They are sending a sling that has the cutout for toileting, but I don't see how we'll be able to pull her pants/underwear down with that on. Is there a way I'm not aware of? I've seen some slings w/ lifts on the internet that go around the upper thigh & trunk that would allow one to remove pants while in the sling, but according to the DME provider, this doesn't work like that.

Ok- to my question- anybody have suggestions, personal experiences, etc to share? I would appreciate any input at all. Just apprehensive & need to make life better for my precious Mom. The sitter has not been able to get Mom onto the toilet in months & therefore we've been using disposable underwear, which is a terribly traumatic, upsetting thing for Mom. I thought she had pretty well adjusted to this, but last night she broke down crying, saying she's too old to wear diapers. Just breaks my heart. So I'm determined that we will find some way to be able to get her up & on the toilet safely & comfortably since she's not incontinent. Thanks & sorry to be so wordy.

Hello and Welcome to the NeuroTalk community

I have a friend/neighbor (Cheryl) who works in an assisted living home which has 8 patients and several types of lifts - one of which is a hoyer lift.

I just called her to ask her about how she uses the hoyer lift for taking patients to the toilet, and she said that she uses the cut-out sling, and that the patients bottoms (pants and undies) are removed while they are in bed before they are put in the sling for the lift, and a blanket/towel is placed on their lap for privacy.

For this reason, each patient has their own cut-out sling for lifting to the toilet.

She was on her way out the door to go to work, but she said that she would be happy to answer more questions for me tomorrow...

I hope that helps, but please let me know if you have anymore questions about the lift because Cheryl (the nieghbor and friend) has been working with lifts for years and she is happy to answer any questions (she has no computer of her own, but she lives close enough that my wireless laptop works in her house, plus she is 2 doors and 1 phone call away).

Take care,
Liz

Thanks for the info! Yes, I do have a couple of questions: Is the cut-out sling opening big enough to be out of the way of urine, etc, when pottying? Does she find the lifts cumbersome? I'm sure it'll take some "getting used to" but I sure hope the lift will be simple & quick to use.

Sorry- one more question. Once you transfer the patient into a wheelchair, for example, is it ok to leave the sling on while in the wheelchair? If not, how would you get it off?

I called Cheryl and left a message on her machine.

She usually calls me back quickly - so I should hear back from her when she gets home from work tonight, or if it is too late when she gets home, she will call me tomorrow morning

I'll ask her the questions, and let you know what she says... let me know if you have any other questions


Liz

LaMissGirl,

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but I have been having a hard time getting in touch with Cheryl (she has a new boyfriend, so she hasn't been home much).

I talked to her this morning, and asked her the follow-up questions about the lift.

She said that the majority of the time, the patients are able to use the bathroom without getting any urine or anything else on the sling. On the rare occasion when there is a splash, the sling is washable. When I asked her if they had to be handwashed or put in the washing machine she had no idea because in her words "washing stuff is someone elses job".

She did say that the rare splashes all occur with the patients who have physical and cognative disablities. She said she has never had a splash problem with the patients who have physical disabilities only (with no cognative disabilities).

She also said that the hoyer is a bit cimbersome, but it's easy to get used to and she was able to learn how to use it very quickly. The home where she works has a few different types of lifts, and she prefers the hoyer because it is the easiest to use and the least cumbersome - she said that the other lifts usually require 2 staff people, but with the hoyer she feels comfortable using that herself without a second staff person.



She said for this is depends on how long the patient will be in the wheelchair. If they are going to be in the chair for several hours, then they remove the sling, but if the patient is being transfered to the chair for a brief period of time (less than 2 hours) they leave the sling in place but they make sure that it is secured so that no portions of the sling get in the way of the wheels or controls on the wheelchair.

To remove the sling from under a patient in a wheelchair, they first slide the part of the sling that is under their legs and rear-end backwards towards the back of the chair, and then they lean the patient forward slightly (using a second staff member or wheelchair seatbelts for safety so the patient does not fall forward) and pull the sling upwards so that it is exiting the chair/patient behind the patients back.

She puts the sling back under the patient by sliding it under their legs and rear-end first and then pulling it up behind their back....

Essentailly, she is always pushing/pulling the sling towards the back of the wheelchair so that she is reducing the chances of the patient sliding or falling forward and out of the chair.

I hope that helps, and I again apologize for taking so long to get back to you.

Please let me know if you want me to ask Cheryl anything else

Take care,
Liz

Absolutely no apologies necessary... I just appreciate the good info. And please pass my thanks along to Cheryl. You both have been very helpful!

Please go to the ALS forum on this site as all who are there use slings or lifts of one kind or another.

Their replies may take time but guanteed you will get them.

Paralysis is by far different in every patient. some patients may assist in thier moving and some may not be able to.

She is lucky to have one who cares caring for her.

Thanks, Thelma, very much!

Dear LaMissGirl:

I was in my early 70s when we got a rental Hoyer lift to use with my husband. He had fallen two different times and broke a bone in his leg each time when using the transfer board from wheelchair to bed. I wish someone had suggested a Hoyer lift years before that. My husband had polio at age 17 and went from crutches to wheelchair many decades later. He is eight years older than I. Could sit unassisted but a little weak in the upper body, but did all right with the lift.

We had a hydraulic lift and I loved it! I felt it was safer and easier to control hyhdraulic than electric but I suppose eletric would have been OK too.

We had a wonderful green canvas cloth sling that was split in the middle, with two sections that went under the thighs, leaving the seat part open. Had a solid stiff back kpart and two separated thigh parts.

I finally got up the courage to lift him onto the portable commode, which I backed up to the closet doors for safety. The open seat of the sling makes it possible to use the commode or toilet with no possible danger of wetting or soiling since the two thigh supports are under the upper legs. These should be straight under the thighs with not wrinkling to make it the safest support. Wiping after a bowel movement, can be done with the lift raised high enough to do this and away from the commode for convenience to the care giver. Awkward but safe and possible! It it important for the person to be backed right up to the back of the wheelchair or commode - there is a sort of handle on the back of the sling to use to pull the person back so their back is flush to the seat.

I washed the sling by hand and air dried it - I think using a dryer might have damaged it. Read washing directions on sling. Mesh slings can be obtained for commode use - these more easily washed but I used the regular sling and that was perfectly fine.

The back of the sling was stiff and this was wonderful - was able to put sling on him while husband sitting in bed. Sling easy to remove when back in bed or wheelchair - just slip each thigh support to the side, and then lift up stiff back support. Could not be easier. Voila!

So many told me I could not manage a Hoyer lift without someone helping me - but I did it! The most important things are to get the sling put on correctly and to follow all lift directions so as to transport the person safely while he is in the sling. The legs of the lift must be spread while moving it - the two thigh supports must have the canvas straps crossed before attaching to the lift hooks. Just follow all directions in the manual and you will be OK. After a few times, the steps get to be a habit and you will not worry so much. But each time the lift is used you MUST do everything correctly.

Please feel free to ask any questions I have not addressed.

Shirley H.