Dad disabled after accident, unsure how to proceed

Mojisola · 29 August 2017 at 1:54PM

sheramber wrote: »

Despite input from the nurses who visited and his GP they would not do anything because he owned his own home although he only had his state pension.

This was never an issue when Mum and Dad had a grant for a wet room. It was only income and available savings that were taken into account.

teddysmum · 29 August 2017 at 3:54PM

Would it not be better to see how he does before adapting his home, as this may make him fee 'old'.

An internet friend had one hip replacement (and will need another), which took ages to get over. She often posted that she wished she'd not gone through with it, as she felt worse than before and healing was taking so long. However, months later, she changed her mind and will be quite happy to have the other op.

sheramber · 29 August 2017 at 8:22PM

Mojisola wrote: »

This was never an issue when Mum and Dad had a grant for a wet room. It was only income and available savings that were taken into account.

As I said it depends on the local authority. In this case they were not prepared to do anything as they would not get the house when no longer needed.

If it had been a council house then they would have had the benefit of a house suitable for a disabled person when it was not longer needed.( their words)

Johnmcl7 · 29 August 2017 at 8:47PM

teddysmum wrote: »

Would it not be better to see how he does before adapting his home, as this may make him fee 'old'.

An internet friend had one hip replacement (and will need another), which took ages to get over. She often posted that she wished she'd not gone through with it, as she felt worse than before and healing was taking so long. However, months later, she changed her mind and will be quite happy to have the other op.

The difficulty is he's not getting the hip replacement, while he was in hospital he fell and dislocated the artificial hip and they had to remove it leaving him with a temporary repair. The idea was he'd build his health back up and get a new artificial hip replaced but they've decided now that he won't be fit enough for the replacement hip because it's too high a risk.

We spoke with the consultant to find out what this would mean for my Dad initially thinking he would be confined to a wheelchair but it's realistic he will be able to walk short distances with the zimmer frame. The bath was already an issue when had the hip replacement as he was struggling with it but now with his more limited mobility, the stairs are going to be an issue as well plus if he has a slip or fall then it could make things a lot worse.

To clarify my dad's age, he's in his late 60's so DLA/PIP is definitely not an option.

Thanks for the experiences people have had, that's what I was looking for as what's written down in practice can be quite different to reality.

John

Savvy_Sue · 29 August 2017 at 9:05PM

There are threads on stairlifts (basic message, don't swallow the hard sell! Get more than one quote!), and I'd look at what might be done in the bathroom: done well, it could be a selling point for the house eventually anyway. If it's a family home, then estate agents will say that keeping a bath is a good thing if you can, but looking at whether you could put a wet room in somewhere and a downstairs loo (if they don't already have one) could be worth considering.

I wouldn't wait until he got home, myself, because a) these things can take time to sort out and b) doing anything in the bathroom has the potential to be disruptive for more than a day (stairlift should not be unless it's REALLY difficult!)

Does he live alone? If not, who else is there?

Johnmcl7 · 29 August 2017 at 9:41PM

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

There are threads on stairlifts (basic message, don't swallow the hard sell! Get more than one quote!), and I'd look at what might be done in the bathroom: done well, it could be a selling point for the house eventually anyway. If it's a family home, then estate agents will say that keeping a bath is a good thing if you can, but looking at whether you could put a wet room in somewhere and a downstairs loo (if they don't already have one) could be worth considering.

I wouldn't wait until he got home, myself, because a) these things can take time to sort out and b) doing anything in the bathroom has the potential to be disruptive for more than a day (stairlift should not be unless it's REALLY difficult!)

Does he live alone? If not, who else is there?

There is a toilet downstairs but it's far too small for a shower and getting rid of the bath lowering the appeal of the house isn't really an issue as my parents would like to do the work so they can stay in the house the rest of their lives.

My Mum lives in the house (she's still very fit and able) and I'm about too.

John

Savvy_Sue · 30 August 2017 at 1:31AM

the other big advantage for just getting on with the work - assuming they can afford it - is that they can choose what they want. I don't know what's available in Scotland, in England local authorities have a budget for Disabled Facilities Grants, BUT it's never enough, plus you may not get the work done in a timely fashion, plus you don't necessarily get the choice you might want.

If your mum knows anyone who's had a bathroom refit, it could be worth asking for recommendations. If not, see if she can find a couple of local builders who'd make suggestions about what is possible. In my 'family' bathroom we've got an over-bath shower, but we'd also have space to fit a low-level one - it would be a small cubicle but it could be done.

margaretclare · 30 August 2017 at 10:43AM

Pity he's so far away. Have a look at the kinds of things that are now being done at the Nuffield Orthpaedic Centre, Oxford. It was only opened in 2007 by the Duchess of Cornwall and what they can do there is not replacement, not revision, but complete reconstruction. This has been done for my DH, age 82, earlier this year. It was a 3-way process - orthopaedics, microbiology and plastic surgery. The man who did it is a Scot - Mr Ben Kendrick - and my DH was referred to him by another Scot, Mr Anthony Greer at our local hospital.

margaretclare · 30 August 2017 at 11:07AM

This is just a general thought for anyone contemplating a wet-room as replacement for a traditional bathroom.

The idea that a house becomes less saleable once you get rid of the bath is, according to what I've heard recently, a completely outdated idea. People don't have time nowadays! Bathing rather than showering takes up too much time and also uses too much water.

A wet room does not have to look 'institutional' or 'clinical'. It can look very attractive and pleasant to use. This is what we have:http://www.mobility-plus.co.uk/walk-in-showers/the-richmond

TBagpuss · 30 August 2017 at 2:13PM

I think it depends on the house. A lot of people prefer baths, and in a family home, with a baby or young child, baths are much more useful. On a personal note, a bath is a deal breaker for me. I'd consider a property with no bath if there was space to put a bath back in, but the cost of doing that would be knocked off any offer I got.

However, OP has said that that isn't really an issue as his parents what to stay in the house so they are thinking about what will work for them, not the possible resale value of the property.

OP, talk to your mum and dad about what they prefer - and about your dad's prognosis, and then they can decide whether switching to a walk in bath or a large shower is better, or looking at fitting a shower in a addition to the bath, or even looking at aids such as grab bars or seats.

Depending on how much he is expected to recover, a stair lift might be a good idea, or alternatively, look at whether it would be possible to rearrange the room s to let him sleep downstairs to begin with (obviously a no go if they don't have a suitable downstairs loo.)

Dad disabled after accident, unsure how to proceed

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