Dad (77/4) has been confined to a bed or Geri-chair since his
hospitalization last December, and subsequent transfer to a
nursing home.
After spending 6 months listening to doctors and a physical therapist
tell me
why it's futile to try to get Dad to try to walk, the private duty
nurse's aide and I tried it last Thursday. When he tried to take
normal
steps, he tripped over his own feet (we were holding him so he
didn't fall), but the aide suggested that he take tiny steps. This
worked. We walked him past the physical therapist's office in the
nursing home.
We tried it again Saturday- Dad walked 50 yards or so with half-steps
(about what his pace was like before he went into the hospital) with
two people supporting him for balance, but most of his weight was on
his feet.
Today, he walked about 120 yards. Not bad for his third time out of
bed/chair in six months. Again, two of us had his arms, but he was
carrying most (80-90 percent) of his own weight. I'd be unsteady,
too,
if I'd been off my feet for 6 months, even with no PD.
I had tried this before, but he took only a few steps... I think the
short,
"baby" steps are the key. This is the typical Parkinson's gait.
He has been having a lot of cognitive problems, but these seemed to
improve a little after his walks. The doctor is also giving him
Aricept.
Anyway, it looks like the private duty aide (I think they get
something
like $6.50 or $7.00 an hour) knew more about this than the doctors
or therapist... we should have done something like this months ago.
Had I kept listening to the "pros," Dad would have continued to
vegetate in bed. Now the physical therapist will
reevaluate him and hopefully resume treatment. Dad has a long way
to go, but the physical activity should be good for him.
-Bill
Levinson
