EQUIPMENT AT HOME

As my sister cannot move herself, she needs a lot of equipment so that she can be moved around. When she was younger, my sister didn’t need much specialised equipment, as we could use baby, toddler and young children’s mobile equipment. However, now that she is much older, bigger and heavier, some of the apparatus that she needs has to be fitted for her. These include her wheelchair and her AFOs.

The biggest change that we made was adapting our house, so that my sister could have a bedroom and bathroom downstairs. The layout was designed so my sister’s bedroom is just off the family room, so that she is close to the rest of the us. It also means that she can be wheeled out to us quickly, and she can also hear us from her bedroom. We also wanted all the surfaces in the kitchen to be high enough so that my sister could fit underneath it in her wheelchair. Due to my sister getting a bigger wheelchair, we will have to change our car, as our current one is not wheelchair accessible.

My sister is currently borrowing a Tobii, which is a really useful way for her to communicate with us as a family. I had a go on the Tobii myself, and I was surprised by the fact that an incredible amount of concentration has to be used in order to use if properly. My sister uses the Tobii a lot, so it must really make her concentrate whenever she uses it. Though it may be a challenging piece of equipment, the Tobii means that my sister can join in with our conversations, and it also means that we can ask her open-ended questions and she is able to answer them. It’s a really helpful piece of equipment, as it means that my other sister and I can have conversations with her about her day, and they won’t be one-sided.

As she cannot stand by herself, my sister has a standing frame, which she uses daily. The frame helps to improve her posture and strengthens the muscles in her body that she would otherwise be unable to use. She doesn’t really enjoy the frame, and I notice that she seems to find it harder as she gets older, but in order to keep her engaged she is normally allowed to watch her favourite TV show and the frame helps, so that she doesn’t slouch when sitting.

A few years ago, we bought a swing for our playroom. It was actually meant for my sister, but my other sister and I and our friends had a lot of fun on the swing. Honestly, I think that my other sister and I used it way more than my sister did! We also have a hammock that was originally meant for my sister, but as a family we use it a lot as well. We hang it up in the garden throughout summer, and all five of us have fun playing on it.

My sister has a special bed, and it has a remote control that: raises the height of the bed and changes the position and shape of the mattress. Me and my other sister were quite young when the bed first arrived, and we thought it was one of the coolest things ever! We spent ages and ages playing “flying carpets,” and “aeroplanes.” The real use for the bed’s technology is so that whoever is transferring my sister into her bed doesn’t have to strain their back. My sister also has a special bath that also lifts up and down, which is also for the carers’ benefit.

When my sister first got her hoist, my other sister and I really wanted to try it out. We basically thought that it was some sort of swing attached to the ceiling! When some of my friends came over to my house, even they had a go on the hoist, and it was great fun. They thought it was so cool that my sister could be taken straight from her bed into the bathroom, without her having to be carried by someone.

Now my other sister and I are older, we don’t play as much as we used to, but we do enjoy trying out and amuse ourselves with the exciting new equipment that my sister receives.

Until next time…

Leah