Mother (91) has three walking canes and a walker for outside. I recenty secured her an Acorn Stairlift also as the house she has lived in since late 1950s is a two story with basement. I agree with her Dr. that the walker will make her lazier in the house. She has a new apppointment soon. Suffers with Dementia which I hotice is worsening yearly a little bit - or a lot depending upon whay activity we are tying to do...the telephone is challenging now, for example - but only for business tasks. With her family and friends she can navigate it easier. What doies the communithy think? She has a home attendant with Guild Net, by the way...only 20 hours a week until I marry and move out in two months.
Lots and lots of elders use walkers inside the home for goodness sake. This sounds very odd to me.
Especially with dementia, she may not remember ways to avoid falls, such as using grab bars, avoiding trip hazards, etc. Falling in the house can be just as dangerous as falling outside.
Could you elaborate on why you and the doctor feel a walker would make her lazier?
If a doctor told me that using an assistive device would make my 91 yo mother "Lazy" I would shout "So what?" but I wouldn't stick around for the answer.
On a side note, my grandma broke her neck and pelvic bone two years ago. She couldn't walk but when PT came into the room at first she wouldnt' do anything. Wouldn't respond and was always saying she was going to fall so wouldn't stand up with them. I mentioned to them she used a walker at home so they had me bring it from home. She reached right for it and struggled to get on her feet and worked everyday with her walker to get back to my house where she walks around. So if any doctor says it makes a person lazy to use a walker, they are not a very smart or good doctor because I have found it gives my grandma motivation and the sense of safety to encourage her to walk. Without it I think she would be lazy and want to be pushed around in a wheelchair not feeling confident enough to be able to walk on her own.
So let her use the walker. Let her feel confident and secure while walking. I see nothing wrong with it.
My Dad was always falling whenever he used his cane or was wall walking... once he got his rolling walker the falls stopped by almost 100%... and he feels so much safer with this walker. His walker has a seat and hand brakes, now not everyone can is able to use the hand brakes so it would be something your Mom would need to try out first before buying. The smaller Mom & Pop pharmacies usually have these walkers in stock for you to try out.
Is live in care feasible? I might have her assessed to see what her level of assistance is prior to you leaving.
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