Guest guest Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Hi everyone. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with hip protectors? They seem to come in the form of underpants with foam padding on the hips to prevent older/frail people from breaking a hip when falling. Dad (PDD) has had numerous falls and his neuro said a broken hip would be 'game over' so we need to get some ASAP but aren't sure if there are any that are better or more comfortable than others. Hope someone has some insight. Thanks so much. Tania.... (daughter of Barry, dx with PD in 2010, then LBD in 2011 and finally PDD in 2012) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks Dorothy for that advice. We've had an OT at the house before and to be honest, they were little more than useless. They loaned us a gait belt and a bed rail and when I asked them how we could lift Dad out his chair, etc, safely or if they knew of a course we could do to learn this kind of stuff, he said he didn't know of anything. Needless to say, I have back issues and Mum had to have four prolapses operated on a few months ago. After speaking with a friend of my parents last week, and his journey of taking care of his mother, I learned that we can have a district nurse come to the house regularly and that there are further services available to us that we hadn't been told about. So I'm now on a proactive mission to find out exactly who can help and how. I'm not taking no for an answer anymore. I've been in touch (again) with community health and they have faxed specific referrals to our local hospital to have both the PT and OT visit and advise again. I told them we haven't received any help to date and they said we are entitled to subsidised equipment to help keep Dad safe. I took Dad to the hospital to see the PT once a week last year but she too was very little help. She pushed Dad so hard one day (lifting weights above his head, etc) that he actually vomited. He wasn't keen on the classes before but after that, he definitely didn't want to go. I feel that these classes were a bit beyond Dad's capabilities. As he has PDD, the Parkinsonian symptoms are quite bad, whereas the dementia side is coming on gradually. We've had the bathroom modified and a ramp built out front of the house, he has a walking stick, a walker and for trips to larger hospitals, etc, we have a wheelchair. I'm worried now that hip protectors won't give him that extra protection because it's really our last resort. But I'll keep researching. Thanks. Tania.... > > > > > Hi everyone. > > > > I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with hip protectors? They > > seem to come in the form of underpants with foam padding on the hips to > > prevent older/frail people from breaking a hip when falling. Dad (PDD) > > has had numerous falls and his neuro said a broken hip would be 'game > > over' so we need to get some ASAP but aren't sure if there are any that > > are better or more comfortable than others. > > > > Hope someone has some insight. > > > > Thanks so much. > > > > Tania.... > > (daughter of Barry, dx with PD in 2010, then LBD in 2011 and finally PDD > > in 2012) > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Thanks Dorothy for that advice. We've had an OT at the house before and to be honest, they were little more than useless. They loaned us a gait belt and a bed rail and when I asked them how we could lift Dad out his chair, etc, safely or if they knew of a course we could do to learn this kind of stuff, he said he didn't know of anything. Needless to say, I have back issues and Mum had to have four prolapses operated on a few months ago. After speaking with a friend of my parents last week, and his journey of taking care of his mother, I learned that we can have a district nurse come to the house regularly and that there are further services available to us that we hadn't been told about. So I'm now on a proactive mission to find out exactly who can help and how. I'm not taking no for an answer anymore. I've been in touch (again) with community health and they have faxed specific referrals to our local hospital to have both the PT and OT visit and advise again. I told them we haven't received any help to date and they said we are entitled to subsidised equipment to help keep Dad safe. I took Dad to the hospital to see the PT once a week last year but she too was very little help. She pushed Dad so hard one day (lifting weights above his head, etc) that he actually vomited. He wasn't keen on the classes before but after that, he definitely didn't want to go. I feel that these classes were a bit beyond Dad's capabilities. As he has PDD, the Parkinsonian symptoms are quite bad, whereas the dementia side is coming on gradually. We've had the bathroom modified and a ramp built out front of the house, he has a walking stick, a walker and for trips to larger hospitals, etc, we have a wheelchair. I'm worried now that hip protectors won't give him that extra protection because it's really our last resort. But I'll keep researching. Thanks. Tania.... > > > > > Hi everyone. > > > > I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with hip protectors? They > > seem to come in the form of underpants with foam padding on the hips to > > prevent older/frail people from breaking a hip when falling. Dad (PDD) > > has had numerous falls and his neuro said a broken hip would be 'game > > over' so we need to get some ASAP but aren't sure if there are any that > > are better or more comfortable than others. > > > > Hope someone has some insight. > > > > Thanks so much. > > > > Tania.... > > (daughter of Barry, dx with PD in 2010, then LBD in 2011 and finally PDD > > in 2012) > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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