How to Adapt to Mobility Limits

Life can be hard adapting to living with mobility limits. Here are some tips for day to day living that may make it easier to do basic self care and even get back to doing things you enjoy, even when you're limited to a wheelchair, power chair, crutches or cane.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Mobility aids appropriate to your level of disability.
• Medical alert jewelry and service
• Help from other people in setting things up so that you can take care of yourself.
• Good morale and a sense of humor, that's a must.

1. Cane handle styles: umbrella, T handle and knob First, assess your level of mobility problems and whether they're permanent or temporary. If you're recovering from a broken leg and will be back on your feet in a few weeks, making changes to your habits will also be temporary and buying new items to help get things done on crutches may not be as practical as getting someone to help you with things. If you have permanent mobility limits from an accident, injury or birth defects, you will need some kind of mobility aid.
   
   The first, simplest mobility aid is a cane. Look for the one that works best for you -- and if your disability is permanent, try to get one that's not medical and ugly. A classy looking cane can help you get used to using one all the time.
   
   I've seen three different styles of handles. Umbrella handles are traditional. Many bent wood canes have the umbrella handle all in one piece with the stock. Metal canes with rubber or plastic handles also come in this style.
   
   The "T" handle cane has the best grip for putting more weight on the cane. These usually come in the plastic-and-metal medical looking version, but I have seen carved wood T handle canes. If it's permanent and you prefer the T-handle, look for an artistic woodcarver to make a custom cane for you with a T handle. Many artists make beautiful canes out of carved wood on commission with your choice of designs.
   
   Spending more on a permanent appliance to look good with a bit of style can help make you feel good about having to use a cane all the time. It also makes your cane distinctive if you leave it somewhere others also forgot canes.
   
   The knob style of walking stick affords the least useful grip, but it's gorgeous and if you don't always use your cane, this could be your fancy cane of choice. Mine is carved mahogany with an amber glass doorknob screwed into a brass holder at the top. I bought it in an import store marked down to half price. Despite losing a more practical T-handle cane, this is the one I haven't lost for seven years because I really liked it. This one didn't get left behind in a stack of other people's canes because I walked away a few feet.
   
   If your good permanent cane doesn't have a rubber tip, buy one separately and add one, gluing it on. A brass tip can give no leverage on linoleum or hardwood floors, also it may damage flooring.
2. Wheelchairs and power chairs are expensive. If your mobility limits don't limit your upper body strength and you have use of both arms, a good unpowered wheelchair can open the door again to getting around on your own. Insurance or Medicaid may pay for your wheelchair if you need it for work or school, or because you need it and can't do anything without one. Be sure to get good insurance that covers mobility aids, especially if you can't use a manual wheelchair without help.
   
   My disabilities give me general weakness and it's harder for me to propel a manual wheelchair than to walk behind it using it for a walker. Try sitting in a wheelchair and moving it just by grabbing the handles on the wheels and pulling them. If you can do it, this may be the right alternative. Otherwise look for a power chair for the long term, because you can't always count on other people to push you around where you can't walk.
   
   Walkers are inevitably medical looking with beige or gray plastic details and chrome, so the only way to artistically improve a walker is wrapping it with black and colored duct tape and maybe adding some artistic decorations to it while you're sitting still. It's not worth the trouble if you're only using a walker temporarily, but expressing yourself in decorating your mobility aids is a good way to personalize them and to feel better about being stuck using one.
   
   I can get around on my cane for short distances, so I didn't get a walker. But I've known others who use them, and the best walkers have sides that fold in flat to lean them against the wall or a chair when not in use. They take up a lot of room wherever you go. However, they allow you to stand, which wheelchairs don't whether power or otherwise.
   
   This makes washing the dishes a walker activity, as well as cooking or anything else unless you get a short stove. Putting hot plates, grills, toaster ovens and other electric cooking appliances down on a short table like a coffee table is an inexpensive way to get around not being able to stand at the stove.
3. Power chairs can cost upwards of $10,000 and are usually paid for by insurance. Some stores may carry inexpensive ones though, under a thousand dollars. If you need a power chair and can't get one with your insurance, you still need your power chair. My home state of Kansas will only get me one if it's to work or go to school to get a job, when my disabilities won't let me work any job with regular, scheduled hours. I function when my body is up to functioning and it's more cost effective for me to do freelance writing and art. So I'll have to buy my power chair out of pocket and am saving up for one currently, because just being able to get around in day to day life isn't enough reason for them to get me one. However, I'm one of those folks that can walk, but not too far. They might have covered it if I could not walk at all, just for moving around the house and daily self care.
   
   For buying a power chair, look for one that can fold and be stowed in a normal car. If you can drive, you'll want it light enough to be able to get in and out of the car and pull it out and put it in yourself. Test it. Try lifting it. Try folding and unfolding it. Some of the better ones fold with an electric motor at a button touch.
   
   Many stores, especially large chain grocery stores and superstores, now have electric power chairs with shopping baskets for customer convenience. Don't be ashamed to use these chairs! Shop at these stores and avoid smaller stores where you may be on your feet longer and wear out before you're done.
4. Move to an apartment or house where your room or apartment is on the ground floor and you don't have to deal with steps to get in or out, or get around in the house if you are completely limited to a power chair. When choosing a new place to live, roll around in it and inspect it before moving in.
   
   I can walk, but not too far. So I put up with a short flight of steps to get inside and down to where my room is, using the cane. My daughter's house is adequate for my mobility limits. But if you can't get out of your room without someone else helping, then move. The less dependent you are on other people's aid for everyday things, the easier it will be to get help when you really need it for something important.
5. You may want to get some different furniture. Not necessarily expensive furniture, but go to the trouble of getting friends or family members to help you bring home furniture that works for your specific limits. Don't be afraid to use furniture in new and original ways when that fits your unique limits. Get creative with thrift store furniture.
   
   My back doesn't let me sit in hard chairs at all, or chairs without arms. So my bedroom chair and guest chair are squashy armchairs so that I could sit in either of them. If you are in a wheelchair, you may only be putting a guest chair in your room instead of using a chair, because your wheelchair is a chair for you -- but you need help arranging everything so that you have enough space to roll around it.
   
   Low dressers are a good idea. So are low bookcases. If you are in a wheelchair or power chair, don't keep any dresser, cabinet or shelf that's too tall for you to reach when you're sitting down. Look for short small dressers and end tables with drawers instead of end tables without drawers, because that will give you drawer space in easy reach. Plastic unit dressers are inexpensive and useful, use the bottom drawer only for deep storage if you can't get at it while sitting down.
6. Reduce the amount of times you have to walk around in your room and in your apartment by grouping everything you do in one or a few areas where you sit. I have my writing corner set up with my easel next to it and all my art supplies in easy reach. It's a little hard to get in and out of, but it helps to be able to just reach things by leaning out of my armchair rather than crossing the room for a reference book or a set of pastels.
   
   Eliminate clutter. Keep no little knick knacks and objects of art anywhere near you in the easy-reach zone. If you are living with someone who helps you clean, maybe keep those art objects on the upper shelves where you can see them but aren't going to be taking them down. Do that only if someone else is willing to dust them periodically, otherwise it's depressing to see them get dusty and not get around to cleaning them.
   
   You need that space for things you use all the time -- phone, laptop computer, ashtray if you smoke, lamps, art supplies, craft supplies, books. Anything you use or do regularly should get stored in an organized way right within reach. If you're in a wheelchair, you can sort these things out into different task areas -- crafts in one place, art supplies in another, computer station in another.
   
   With a wheelchair or power chair, you may want to construct or have constructed a desk or workbench to a comfortable working height for your chair, then don't bother keeping a chair for it. Put the chair off to the side for guests or leave it out. Most home-built workbench designs can be scaled down to have shorter legs and come at the right height for your chair. Leave room for its handles. You may have to give up having drawers under it if you want to move easily side to side. Put the drawers to one side or the ends and give plenty of space to roll in under it till it's nearly touching your chest, that will give the most working space for your projects and hobbies.
   
   Be sure to make a pocket for your TV remote and any other remote controls to hang from the arm of your chair. A saddlebag on the chair can be very useful for glasses, remote controls, phone, little things you don't want to mislay. Always keep these things in the same place so that you don't forget them and have to search for them.
7. Consider purchasing a medical alert service, which will give you an emergency pendant or bracelet to communicate in the case of slips and falls. This is far more important if you live alone. If you live with people you trust, they may be able to help you in the case of a minor accident. But when you live alone and already have mobility limits, the power chair breaking down or your falling in the shower could leave you waiting for hours or even days before someone comes over.
   
   If this isn't possible, at least keep a cell phone nearby and on your person or in reach whenever you're home alone. Look at what your insurance will cover for medical alerts and home assistance. Also look into local agencies and charities that provide help for disabled people. You may get help with housekeeping or meals too.
8. Keep a trash can with a plastic grocery bag in it next to any place in your home or apartment that you will sit for more than five minutes. Redundant trash receptacles can do a lot to avoid having to go around picking up trash, which is harder for the mobility limited. When the little bag is full, tie it up and put a clean bag in from a stash under the used bag inside the trash can.
   
   Then pick up the full bag the next time you go to the bathroom or the door and move it in the direction of the main trash receptacle. Next time you go outside, carry it along to the dumpster. I've done this for years and it helped me to get into the habit of always using a trash bag and never throwing garbage on the floor. Picking up garbage is five times harder when you're mobility limited.
   
   Alternately with a wheelchair or power chair, you may want to put a small trash bag with grocery-bag liner right on the arm of your chair, so it's always handy and taking a full one to the trash can is a quick roll or drive to the kitchen.
   
   Staying organized and reducing the amount of cleaning up you need to do is vital to living with mobility limits. Doing a complete motion and time analysis of every household chore you do for yourself and inventing easier ways to do them or eliminate the need for them to be done can pay off big time, leaving you the energy to do things you enjoy doing instead of spending all week cleaning house when an abled person might finish it in an hour.
   
   Letting it get bad before cleaning up is a bad idea for the mobility limited. It is actually time-energy efficient for the bustling abled. They can knock it all out once a week in an hour or two of intensive effort -- but your slow effort takes as much work and won't get it done in that reasonable period of time. This is the biggest change to my habits to help with my mobility limits that I made -- do not drop trash, do not try to clean up all at once.
   
   Move anything that needs to be moved in stages in the direction of where it needs to go. Use paper plates if washing dishes starts to get monumental, and you don't have help or a dishwasher.
9. Put a stool in the shower, or take baths rather than shower. This is individual, but find out what's easier for you with your specific limits. I can only stay on my feet for two or three minutes, at most five, so showers were right out of it for me but baths were possible. You may find sitting in the shower and using a hand held sprayer on a cord a lot easier than I do, because sitting without back and arm support is as bad as standing for me. Experiment with different arrangements, especially if you can try them in friends' homes before buying appliances.
10. If it hurts your back or knee, stop.
    
    That one was hard to get used to, because it's natural to keep going even when there's a little aches and pains. But the first small pangs with back trouble or knee trouble are warnings. Do not ignore them or you may limit your mobility a lot worse by secondary injuries caused by limping or moving differently.
    
    Don't be embarrassed to ask for help. Ask politely and clearly without groveling or begging. It's hard on morale to have to ask for help repeatedly, so I take no for an answer and move on, finding another way to deal with the logistic problem. I've lived alone but found I needed some help just with everyday living, and now get the help that I need. If you need to live with family or friends that are willing to help, try to keep the things you need help with to a minimum. They will be less resentful if it's not constant.
    
    It may cost more to live with mobility limits. Having food delivered is expensive except through programs like Meals on Wheels, so getting that low-level kitchen "counter" rectangular coffee table and putting that into the kitchen is well worth it, so is a large toaster oven, microwave and two-burner hot plate. Get a fridge that's short. Using two "dorm" refrigerators side by side may be better than a full height fridge if you can't stand up. Make sure the freezer is on the side if it is full height, if you can't stand up.
11. Take up hobbies and activities you can do at home. Set up the equipment for them in ways you can reach it. Going out to eat may be inconvenient depending on the restaurant, make sure the ones you like do have ramps if you're using a wheelchair or power chair to get around in. Renting movies is easier than going out to theatres, unless they have wheelchair access.
    
    Get a "Handicapped" tag for your car, or if you don't have one, get the tag anyway. You need to have that good parking space even if you can't walk very far -- because you can't walk that far to use the one at the end of the lot. Carry it with you and put it in the window when friends drive you places, because they will be more likely to give you a lift in order to get better parking.
12. It's hard living with new limits and having to give up activities you loved, especially if they involved taking long walks or running for health. Focus on what you can do more than what you can't. Spend time with loved ones. Spend time doing things and making things, crafts and art are good ways to fill time if you can't work.
    
    If you can work, plenty of jobs don't require walking around and employers must accommodate your special needs. Be aware of them. The Americans with Disabilities Act means that they must put in any ramps or special aids you need to continue doing your work if you were hired undisabled and become disabled. They can't fire you as long as you can still do the job -- so they can pay for the rearrangement of office space to accommodate your power chair or wheelchair, or move your office to the ground level if there isn't an elevator in the building.
    
    Look into local agencies that can help pay for mobility aids and charities that do so. Sometimes there are grants available and funds set aside specifically to help disabled people get back into mainstream life. They may be specific to your health problem or general for disability, but there are many resources available.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring something good to read, or art supplies when going to medical appointments and any appointments. Waiting rooms are dull but if you can get something done like a sketch or a project, it's not as bad.
• Get a laptop computer. They are much easier to use on a lap desk or a short desk than full size computers.
• Get a keyboard that can come into your lap and a wireless mouse, if you can't use a normal chair at a desk any more and your computer's a desktop.
• Become involved online and find out about facilities where you're going to shop or to club events. They need to know if you have special needs of any kind, including dietary needs if meals are served.
• Don't overdo it while setting up arrangements to reach everything. Rearrange your life a little at a time rather than injure yourself doing more than your body can handle.
• Don't lose your pride when people treat you badly. Their ignorance doesn't need to be your problem. Do not put up with people who patronize you if you're sitting down while they're standing, call them on it firmly and behave like an intelligent, dignified adult. You did not lose your IQ or your adulthood just by sitting in a chair.