UPDATE: I just thought I should update that, as predicted, today was a little better than Friday. The new health aide that will be giving Kathy showers on weekends came to get acquainted. Her name is Pat and she has actually had some work experience with Huntington’s Disease. A nurse named George came to set up the care plan for Pat. He was great and better than the nurse that came to set up the plan with Hope. After George left, Pat showed me better ways to use the gait belt to transfer Kathy. I think I am getting the hang of it. The idea, as I understand it, is to rest my knees against her knees and use my arms and her knees for leverage. I need to save my back. It was still hard in the bathroom because Kathy started folding in the middle. I did show them one sore I found on her hip that seems to be from her depends or the waterproof pants she wears at night. George also suggested that maybe putting a grab bar at the other end of the shower might help her get in the tub. He also said maybe if the shower bench were turned facing away from the shower head, Kathy might have an easier time getting in and out. It was something I’ve never even thought about. That’s like walking into an elevator and not facing the door. The only drawback to Pat’s schedule is that she doesn’t come until noon on Saturday. It is a little inconvenient but until her schedule opens up (translated: someone goes into a nursing home or dies) it is all they can do.
Later in the day I tried to figure out how to add a ramp to the porch. Kathy was supposed to go to the dentist on Monday for another cleaning. I decided I will postpone the appointment for now rather than risk having another problem getting Kathy back into the house. Insurance might pay for part of a ramp. I don’t want to order a ready-made ramp on-line and have it not work. I have a bad habit of starting to make improvements to help Kathy in some way. But by the time I have it bought, built, and finished, her disease has progressed to where it is useless. Oh well.