31-Day Writing Challenge-Day 24

Join with me as I embark on a 31-Day Writing Challenge! Inspired by Lisa-Jo and created by the Nester, this exercise takes writers on a journey to write on one topic for 31 days straight.

Me? I’m attempting to go through our journey and countdown 31 things I used to have to do for Danny, that I don’t have to anymore. This exercise has already taken me down roads I haven’t traveled in my mind in quite some time. It has, and will allow me to be reminded just how far we really have come since August 16, 2005.

8. Standing Frame

Danny couldn’t hold his own body weight for more than two years. However, it was important to keep his bones strong, his muscles and tendons stretched and his brain remembering that standing is what his body should be doing.

He wasn’t a baby that we could merely hold by the hands and he could push his legs straight. We needed help.

Enter the standing frame.

Placing Danny’s feet into the foot rests and slipping a strap under his bum, we’d pump him up to a standing position. Ideally, he would stand for about 30 minutes or longer depending on how well he was feeling.

However, Danny hated it. He complained the entire time he would stand in it; his back hurt, he needed pillows for him arms, etc.

It became such a battle with him that it wasn’t even worth the effort. But, we tried and we tried.

We learned quickly that we couldn’t leave him alone. The standing frame had a manual pump handle at an easy height for the patient to lift themselves up; or in Danny’s case, sit them back down.

Because Danny was so uncomfortable, he took advantage of the handle and began to lower himself down, without a chair behind him.

He wound up on the floor; uninjured, but on the floor.

How do you get a now overweight, 6′ tall man who can’t move himself off the ground?

The fore mentioned Hoyer lift doesn’t lower to ground level. It took a sling and a group effort to get him back in his chair.

Lesson learned-we never put him in the standing frame without his wheelchair still behind him.

When we moved into our condo and the standing frame became a dusty blanket holder, we sold it.

Thankfully, we were no longer in a position that Danny couldn’t weight bear. He was able to stand with the walker.

Now, he stands and weight bears several times a day. He walks with his walker and he transfers himself to the side of the bed.

I was so happy the day we sold the standing frame and I’m sure Danny was too. We’d turned another page and gotten rid of another piece of equipment we didn’t need any more.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.