ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: keithk on October 11, 2010, 01:34:01 pm
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I am new to the group and don't know if this was covered before. This is how my wife and I made the house a little safer.
We added 3 suction cup handles in the shower so I had a something to hold on to during a shower. Also we put a rail in the edge of the tub to give support when getting in and out of the shower. I wear swimming glasses during my shower because my left eye is not watertight. We live in a two story house. I had a walker upstairs and downstairs and a cane for use on the stairs.
Hope this helps.
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Hi. Welcome to the forum and thanks for the tips! I don't understand what you mean that your eye isn't watertight? My left eye doesn't tear, but I don't wear any glasses in the shower. I just put some ointment in it when I get out. Just wondering why the need for the swim glasses? Thanks. --Carol Ann
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I can't close it tight enough to keep water and shampoo out of the eye because of facial nerve weakness.
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Now these are the kinds of things that I'm really working on lately - what are some of the little revisions I can make in my life which will make this AN thing easier for me? I just recently got a suction cup shower bar thing, too. It's awesome! It's also portable, so it can be removed from the shower and taken with me wherever I want it (although I can't imagine where!).
I'm more "wonky headed" in the morning, and my head gradually clears up a teeny bit so I'm better in the afternoon. I've discovered that turning on lots of lights in the morning helps me get re-oriented. Has anyone ever gone to occupational therapy to get help living with AN related issues? What else are people doing, in the practical sense, to cope with your life changes?
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I have problem walking in the dark or dimly lit rooms. In the morning I am usually ok, I get wonky later in the day when I start to get tired. I have been walking with a cane since I was diagnosed in June. I thing I might need it for a very long time.
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I did go through some occupational therapy, as well as physical therapy and vestibular therapy during my 'initial recovery' (the 2.5 months I was home). In my case, it was focused on dealing with the double-vision.
My wife is a special ed teacher and did the best thing she could possibly do for me. She left me the hell alone. What I mean by that, is that she did nothing for me unless I asked or it was understood between us and the docs that I should not be doing myself. For the first couple weeks at home, cooking was no-no, so she or our daughter-in-law fixed my meals unless I ate cold foods.
If I attempted to do something, she did not interfere and explained to the others in the house not to interfere (if I had not already snapped at them, I'm sorry to say). In this way, I pushed myself appropriately hard to recover while having to be honest about my limits.
To really illustrate: the day she brought me home from the hospital, after two weeks in ICU and a mere night in a regular room, she walked ahead of me to the door, opened the storm door outward and stood there. And waited, neither of us knowing for sure if I could climb the five steps to the porch. It was a very big moment in my recovery. I love her to pieces for this.
So, what I am trying to say is to not to get too carried away adapting. Your body should respond to the challenges its given. If it does not, then adaptations are certainly called for. I certainly do not discourage bathroom safety rails - i was very nervous the first few weeks. I'm also aware that 35% of adults 50 and over who break a hip, die. So bathroom safety is a really good idea.
I'm eight months post, and I am still a slow start in the mornings. I used to be a morning person - up and ready to go. These days I generally need a lot more time, in part because it takes me so much longer to eat and such. Sudden light changes, especially from light to dark, require adjustment.
Tod
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I used a night light in my bedroom for about a year post-op. Waking up during the night or first thing in the morning when it was very dark was disorienting. I use to get the "spins".... like in college when you wake up still drunk... anyway the night lite helped my eyes focus, and I could get out of bed. Now I seem to have adjusted and don't need it anymore.
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The suction cups in the shower are a great idea. I had to prop myself in a corner when I closed my eyes to wash my hair. If I didn't do so I ended up doing the James Brown "Good Foot" dance on a wet, slippery surface.
The night light gets two thumbs up from me as well. A year later and I still can be wobbly when I first wake up in a dark room. Having just a bit of light helps keep me on an even keel.