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Are you reluctant to take your elder out because walking is a slow and exhausting process that wears out your senior and drives your own patience into the ground? Or is lifting a heavy wheelchair in and out of your car trunk giving you back problems of your own - if you can lift it at all? Taking
someone with mobility problems out for
recreation is often such a debilitating
chore that we find ourselves going out
together ever more infrequently. This is a
sad state of affairs for everyone. There is a solution. Like just about everything, it involves spending a little money, but the expense will be far less than the cost of a chiropractor or antidepressants...or both...and the rewards can be huge.
A transport wheelchair is a lightweight (some are less than 20 pounds) wheelchair that folds easily and is no great chore to lift into a car trunk. They are narrower than a standard wheelchair, so they fit comfortably through most doors. You can fold, lift and store most travel wheelchairs without having to remove the footrests, so it's a quick and easy job to get up and go. Even people who don't normally use a wheelchair find that a travel chair makes outings and special events more pleasurable and less exhausting. Transport wheelchairs start at around $150, although you can sometimes find special deals for even less. Because they aren't designed to be used as a primary wheelchair, and they are designed primarily for use outside the home, Medicare doesn't cover transport chairs. Even
transport wheelchairs need to be properly
sized for the user, so I don't recommend
that you purchase a chair without having the
person who will be using it actually sit in
the model you will be purchasing. For this
reason, unless you have already sampled
transport chairs and have selected the size
and model you need, I don't recommend just
ordering a chair from a catalog or website. Either
way, you, your aching back, and your elder
will be much more mobile if you have one.
Just because your elder is no longer managing his affairs, or may be in a care facility, don't imagine that our favorite uncle, Sam, isn't interested in keeping in touch. He is, and he will. Many people with care needs still have to file income taxes. Unless they have very low income and are exempt, all income from pensions, investments, and other sources has to reported to federal, state and local entities, just like always. If you don't know whether your loved one has to file, check with an accountant or the IRS now, before they get any busier. If you're in charge of their finances, make sure you have good records. This will both make tax filing easier and it will reduce the chance that anyone might complain about how you're doing the job.
It isn't often that I say there's something you simply must read here, but this is an exception. AskMolly! received the question below from someone who is being scared to death by a social worker. In this case, he or she is right to be scared. Bad things can happen if you fall into this trap... "Per our local social workers - if we assume care in any form for my father's wife while he is admitted to a hospital for any treatment that requires overnight stay - we have assumed caregiver status of her and could be sued for abandonment if we leave at any point to go to work and do not take care of her for the time he is in the hospital, even if that stay results in days or weeks. She has Alzheimer's and is NOT OUR MOTHER. HELP!!!" This question doesn't apply only to Alzheimer's or the other dementias. It applies to any senior who cannot safely be left alone...even a neighbor or friend who isn't related to you but who is in need of care or supervision. It's something to think about seriously before you find yourself obligated in ways you never imagined. Here's how I answered...
Valentine's Day...the store shelves already had little red hearts on Christmas Eve. This means you'd better not forget, 'cuz our economy apparently depends on each and every one of us doing our part by keeping our liquid assets in circulation. What you don't want to do is spend too much on something your older loved one can't use and doesn't know what to do with just because you couldn't think of anything at the last minute. So visit the Corner Store and browse around now, while there's still time. There's bound to be something that will please and that won't put you in pauper's court. Best always,
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A
transport chair is what every
caregiver/care recipient in this situation
needs. The picture on the left illustrates a
typical transport chair. 
