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I am going to donate our Lift recliner to a local medical equipment co-op. I need to get him a better recliner that is not electric, because his Parkinson's with new dementia makes it too difficult for him to operate this. He sometimes presses the button and doesn't realize it. He also has nearly dumped himself onto the floor when I am out of the room and he wants to get up. I'm wondering if the kind with the lever at the arm rest that you pull to recline would work. Anyone have experience with these? Also I'm wondering if I should get one that lies flat for the eventual need of sleeping in the living room.

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I am not sure if any recliner goes perfectly flat. You got to try them out. My Mom had a lazy boy with a handle. This was recommended to make it easier for her to get the foot part up and down easier. My DHs recliner has the bottom pull out but then he needs his legs to push the foot back down.

https://www.amazon.com/Recliner-Handle-Extender-Oversized-Lowering/dp/B0C3RC721S/ref=asc_df_B0C3RC721S
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Reply to JoAnn29
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My mother could no longer operate a recliner , nor get out of it . A regular wing chair with arms worked best . She could get out of it and if she fell asleep her head rested against the wing . She had a small foot stool which she eventually stopped using as well .,
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Reply to waytomisery
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I doubt that he'll be able to operate the manual control on a recliner. The idea of getting one that lies flat seems like a good idea, but the time may come when he thinks he can get up from it but can't. Then he ends up falling. Plan on putting him in bed every night to sleep. You can use bed rails with a bed, thus saving from falling (at least some of the time).
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Reply to Fawnby
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Nothing works in terms of recliners for elders with dementia. My mother (with dementia) put literal holes in the drywall many times insisting the electric recliner should go back further when the wall stopped it from doing so. Yet she flat out refused to use the lift feature, instead falling off the chair more times than could be counted. The manual recliner was too hard for her to operate, she didn't have the strength or the memory to recall how to work it.

Het your husband sit in a regular chair rather than throw good money after bad. Expecting an elder with dementia and mobility issues to work contraptions is futile.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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BLG2024 Dec 27, 2024
Yes our drywall is in bad shape behind the chair , too! He has a stair lift, but sometimes needs to sleep downstairs so I do need a recliner in the living room, unless at some point I get a hospital bed.
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I would look for recliners that are made for elders. In my experience they can require a lot of strength to push the foot rest down and push the back down, or the level at the side can require some strength as well.

I would call La-z-boy or Barcalounger retailers and ask questions before spending time driving there. Hoping others on this forum will have other brand or model suggestions.
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Reply to Geaton777
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