My dad fell yesterday and it took us hours to get him off the floor and into a chair. I was there for 2 and a half hours or so and my mom had tried for 45 minutes before she called me. He isn't strong enough to lift his own weight, or even really to help us lift him-- plus he is 81 years old.
He didn't want to call the EMTs, or even any other family members to help. But I told him he couldn't just stay on the floor-- we HAD to get him up somehow. I understood his reluctance, but I wasn't going to leave him on the floor.
It eventually took 6 people to lift him-- we recruited neighbors. And we were barely able to manage it at that.
Then my sister arrived and called the EMTs despite his protests, just to check him out (but they really didn't do anything we hadn't already done to check his condition). He was OK at that time.
Then later we called the EMTs back because he couldn't stand and seemed confused. So we spent half the night at the ER. He was admitted to the hospital.
But this got me thinking...
It's a problem to weigh too much for a reasonably strong person- or two reasonably strong people-- to lift you in an emergency.
At a bare minimum, stay active and keep your weight in check, especially as you age. If you can do anything at all, keep active! Yes, age is still going to get you, but inactivity and obesity will only make things worse whatever age you are. It may be the most important part of prepping, maybe even more important than skills. Knowing what to do but being physically unable to do it isn't preparedness.
-
If I've earned your support, consider subscribing or donating.
With your tech and engineering skills, might you design and build an apparatus with a block and tackle? It would need to be portable, so that helper(s) could take it to where your Dad fell, but then one person could raise him to a vertical posture.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of heavy people around. Advertise it on eBay and make money too?
I've been thinking of that very thing. They have lifts in nursing homes and there are veterinary lifts for livestock that can't stand by themselves.
DeleteGlad your dad is okay. I entirely agree about the need to maintain a healthier weight - not only does it make a person easier to transport if they are sick or injured, but it reduces health care costs and improves quality of life to an incredible extent. It also means your preps will last longer if you have to live off them. I've lost around 100 pounds in the last two years or so. Trust me, it makes a HUGE difference in so many ways. And it doesn't take medical intervention either.
ReplyDelete-Roh
That is AWESOME to hear. Congrats!
Delete