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How Mobility Aids Keep You Independent

By: Randy McIntire


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My grandmother turned 88 last year. She is now in a rest home and she is very happy there, but up until about three years ago she was living by herself in her own house. She's been overweight for my entire life, she suffers from arthritis, and she has battled back-and-forth with leukemia for several years now. To me, it is pretty impressive that she held on to her independence until the age of 85. She had family members nearby who would take care of her yard, but she mostly got along by herself. Personally, I credit the technological advances of our modern day for giving my grandmother the ability to take care of herself during those years when she couldn't move around much without assistance.
The technological advances I'm referring to are today's modern mobility aids for seniors and those who live with a disability. If you have trouble walking around, you can get a cane, a walker, a walker with wheels, or even an electric mobility scooter or a power wheelchair. Some of these products are designed with the physically handicapped in mind, but are perfectly suitable for senior citizens who just need a little help getting around. In my grandmother's case, a three-wheel travel scooter was all she needed to go shopping, which she still enjoys. For getting around the house, the scooter would have been cumbersome, so she also had a deluxe walker with wheels and a basket.
Moving around isn't the only thing our seniors find difficult. Once Grandma was seated in her favorite recliner, she needed help to get back up. So, we bought her a lift chair. At first, she missed her old recliner, but she didn't take long to warm up to her new lift chair. It's a very comfortable recliner that can lean all the way back, so she could nap in it. When she needed to get up, all she had to do was push the button, and the chair would raise her to her feet, doing the hard work for her. Then, she would grab her walker and move out.
My parents thought of everything. They knew that my grandmother was getting on in years and they didn't like the idea that she could fall in the bathtub. We installed a few extra grab bars, and bought a bath lift for her. A bath lift is a chair that sits in the bath tub and, similar to a lift chair, lowers and raises the user in and out of the bath. After installing that, my parents had more peace of mind knowing that Grandma wouldn't fall down in the shower ? she had an easy-to-use mobility device that virtually guaranteed her safety.
The mobility aids we bought for my grandmother enabled her to live in her own home, unassisted, for about twelve years after her husband passed. Without the use of such products, we don't know what would have happened, but we suspect that she would have gone to live in the rest home much sooner. She really does like it there, she has plenty of other ladies to socialize with, but independent living is something that everyone wants to hold on to for as long as possible. Thanks to our modern day's wide selection of mobility aids, my grandmother was able to do just that.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Randy McIntire is a writer of health advisory articles and consumer guides for mobility products, such as stair lifts, bath lifts, lift chairs, and mobility scooters. For more information, visit Medical Supplies.

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