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My mother-in-law has Parkinson's and although she has it mostly under control, recently she has had trouble getting in and out of her bed. They delivered a hospital bed this week that was supposed to help her, she is still having trouble getting in and out. I am looking for any suggestions or other equipment that may help. We have tried having her user her walker, but it isn't stable enough to help her push herself up. She has a cane, but that doesn't help. She has a dresser within reach but when she grabs onto it her soft hands slip and I am afraid she will fall using this. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thank you!

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It's time for a Nursing Home. So sorry to say that.
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The hospital bed has side railings, right? My husband was able to pull himself up into a sitting position using these, swing his legs over the side, and hang on to railing to get up. But by the time he had a hospital bed it wasn't really safe for him to do this alone. I tried to always be in the room when he was getting in or out of bed.

Your profile says MIL lives with you. Does she have a means of summoning you? Can you always help her in and out of bed?

Once up, can she walk with her walker OK? Or does she use a wheelchair?

Ask her doctor to order a visit from an occupational therapist who may see other ways for her to help herself.

It may be that her infirmity has reach a point where she simply needs more assistance than she has in the past. Can you provide that? Or is it time to consider a care center?
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the side rails of the old hospital beds are a benefit, but eventually u may want to see if her insurance will cover a "Lift". They had it for my dad, but he never gets out of bed so we returned it... In a nursing home, they usually use a lift for the patients safety and the health aid. best of luck, god bless
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it takes me and my sister to sit mom up to get her to the bedside potty.. it not easy but we have to do it...
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When our mom had trouble we purchased something called a bed buddy. It is a board that slides between the mattress and box spring and has a rail attached that helps give assistance in pulling yourself up or holding on to sit down. The nightstand is not a good idea as it can fall over. An occupational therapist should be called in (ins should pay) to show how to get up and down. Basically. While holding on the patient backs into the bed with the butt at a diagonal towards the pillow, this allows them to get high in the bed (bed buddy bar is just below the pillow). They use the bed buddy for support. Getting up the swing legs over closest to buddy, and use the buddy for support. It is very stable as their weight is holding it steady. The nursing homes in our state would nt allow side rails as it is considered restriction, but the bed buddy was allowed. We used it there, and at home
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Bed rail that goes under mattress which you can place where convenient. Also took wheels/coasters off bed to make the bed lower to floor and bought a smaller box spring. Both ocvupational and physical therapist were very helpful, they had excellent ideas on just how to find new ways to do ordinary things. Good luck
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We built a frame and put Dad's mattresses on it. So when Dad gets up it's at his height level. I found that the hospital bed was very uncomfortable, and made him feel like an invalid. Then we placed a grab rail or bed buddy under his mattressso he can lift himself. My 93 year old Dad also does exercise's everyday to keep his arm strength up. Parkinson's flucuates, sorry for the spelling, have her morning medication by the bed, have her take it when she wakes and wait 15 minutes before she tries to get out of bed. Sometimes the problem is she has no juice to get moving. Good luck, and bless you for taking such good care of her.
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Excellent advice, we too gave meds about an hour or 2 before mom normally got up. This really did make a difference.
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Most people think a hospital bed is the solution for bed transfer and repositioning issues but seldom is that true (plus most hospital beds are uncomfortable in the first place). There are true solutions that most people know nothing about. I have to open my mouth as I hate to see people endanger themselves or their loved ones- or go to a nursing home needlessly. If I can help please let me know.
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Excuse me, I don't understand. "I have to open my mouth...." No offense, but why didn't you?? What are these "true solutions?"

"If I can help, please let me know." Help here! Now!
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Nursing home is the last resorce!! Get her a lift it's a netting attached to a lift and you can get her out of bed into a chair and back without you actually lifting her.
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My mom was not able to get out of bed either and in time she became 100% wheel chair bound. She can only get up now if someone picks her up. Due to being in bed so long she has lost the ability to stand alone. She is now in a residential care home.
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I'd also look into a hoyer lift, ez-stand or 2 person transfer assistance during the heavier, more difficult times of the day. You can rent the lifts so it's not as expensive. There are lots of options to help out someone at home so they don't have to move - just depends on the finances, toll on Caregivers, etc. Perhaps a Care Manager near you can help you in this situation? You can find a local one to put you in touch with resources here: www.caremanager.org.
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Sorry for the confusion- as a vendor I can't comment too much without the post being removed. I specialize in mobility problems and see many new items at national tradeshows- some items may be perfect solutions. I would be glad to offer suggestions if people contact me direct (I believe that is allowed).
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True solutions are a lift and hired help. It is not a one person job. I would get rid of the hospital bed, unless she needs the side rails. I agree that she needs to be in a NH, where she can get 24/7 care.
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Have her do the roll on her side, bring her legs up to then put on the floor and push off from the pillow. This will work if she can push off her hands with her wrists being strong enough. If this is a hospital bed it probably is high. You can also get side rails she could grab. It is difficult even with someone not having Parkinson's. Try to get it as low to the floor so she won't have that far to reach the floor with her legs. I am glad to hear she is doing well with her Parkinson's, but at some point in time she will get worse, so be prepared with future arrangements.
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Parkinson's patients don't do well in hospital and nursing homes, they have special needs. They don't have the staff to give the assistence needed or the medication when needed. Also putting a person of sound mind with dementia patients is cruel. She will be depressed in a week. Then she will be heavily medicated. It's a vicious cycle. You will have to be there every day to keep her busy and content. Keep her home as long as possible. Employ help if you start to become burned out. If she doesn't like the companion, hire a cleaning woman who will also do laundry to take some of the hard work off you. She may be eligible for assistence if she is the widow of a veteran.
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Very familiar with Parkinsons and the problems with getting in/out of bed or repositioning for comfort (and avoiding bedsores). Many times the lightweight spouse is getting out of a dead sleep six times a night to roll dead weight around- a young healthy person would be in danger of getting injured. Lots of calls- being at home is much better- but the proper assistive equipment/necessary help may be necessary.
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She should use the control to get her head up high and use the bed rail on the bed to help pull herself up and standing. If she does not have a bedrail get a hallow (special bed rail) (they use in assisted living) to attached to the bed and use.
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She should use the control to get her head up high and use the bed rail on the bed to help pull herself up and standing. If she does not have a bedrail get a hallow (special bed rail) (they use in assisted living) to attached to the bed and use.
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I may have this wrong but a physical therapist told me to roll mom over on her side, start scooping her legs off side of bed and at the same time put your other hand under shoulder that is touching bed and push up gently and this will bring her up to a sitting position. Would wait a few minutes till she was acclimated to sitting up. Then I would have mom put her hands on walker, I put my foot inside walker so it would not move, held onto walker with one hand and used my other arm under her armpit. My elbow would basically be under her armpit. Never want to pull anyone up. By getting her up this way she rested her weight on me. Did not hurt her or cause any bruising . My mom would stand right up and I would wait for a few moments to make sure her balance was ok. I also wanted to mention that I bought a very good memory foam mattress topper for the hospital bed. Had to trim to fit. Mom slept in hospital bed for 4 years. She was very comfortable on her back. I would put a flat bed pillow under edge of shoulder to edge of buttock. When she woke up to go to bathroom I would switch to other side. Otherwise I never moved her and was extremely fortunate that she never had a bedsore . As I mentioned before call a physical and/or occupational therapist in. I asked that they show me the best ways to get mom up, in and out of shower, from bed to potty, etc. Had about 4 different evaluations as her mobility decreased. You are doing the right thing asking for help, this is not am easy job.
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We got a bed rail from Amazon. Do a search and all kinds come up.

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Actually that bedrail is called a Halo ring if you want to check it out. It is a round type rail that they say is approved for assisted living (but I can't verify which states or if all).
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I tried various beds and mattresses with my aunt. She had a hip fracture . The bed was too high so we took away the frame, leaving just mattress and box springs. Then after she fell from the bed 3 times because she'd sit on the end of the bed during the day, with her walker an unknown distance away. So we tried a lower mattress with / without the frame. Too high or too low. Her caregiver thought of a day bed with rails on 3 sides, and a 6 in mattress. With a little railing near the head of the bed, she uses it to get in and out. No more falls.
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The above post shows that the "bed" is often not a great solution. Getting in/out of bed and repositioning problems (plus falls from bed) are all too common. Many people think hospital beds are the answer but they do little to help with transfers and are usually uncomfortable. Add memory foam for comfort and then repositioning becomes harder. Or buy an adjustable bed for better comfort but they do nothing for transfers either. It comes down to assistive components to meet a person's needs- and that takes work to figure things out (and please avoid the flimsy items that you see on the market).
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When my late 6'4" husband (I'm 5'7") was a patient at the Haley VA in Tampa, FL, I learned how to use a gait belt to move him. Whether between a bed and a wheelchair or his recliner on visits at home, this was always practical and manageable for me by myself. Now I'm finding it useful for my 5'2" 90-lb. mother, as well. Be sure you are adequately trained.
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You can get her a hoyer lift.
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I agree with the bed rail. I have also heard of people with Parkinson's having luck with using a satin bottom sheet that makes it easier to move. There are even sheets made especially for those with Parkinson's mobilitysheets (I am not affiliated with the company in any way)
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Suggestion: position the wheelchair at right angles to, and next to, the bed. Grab her gate belt high in her back with two hands as she stands, then pivot her so her rear comes down on the bed. She only has to stand a moment. Then let her settle back further, then lift her legs up and lay her on her back, then adjust the bed. The Gate belt is such a blessing. If that's beyond her ability, then yes, the Hoyer lift is great. My mom was afraid of it, until she was in it, then she felt very safe in it.
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Kimmie- does MIL also have problems with repositioning in bed? People with Parkinsons often have that as well as bed transfer problems. Common call- lightweight wife getting out of a dead sleep up to 6 times a night to roll their husband over for comfort/prevent bedsores. Even tougher for the caregiver and a gait belt isn't the answer. Assistive devices can be a good solution for both problems (and a dresser next to the bed doesn't count!).
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