Adèle is a retired woman in her 60s who provides about 3 hours of help a week to her husband, also in his sixties, who has had muscular dystrophy and heart problems for forty years. Adele has heart problems as well as musculoskeletal disorders. Her husband does a lot of things independently, but it takes a lot of time and energy.
Needs | Current Approaches |
Alternate Suggestions |
What could be created? |
1. Adèle would like the transfer from the bed to another chair to be safer and faster. She is concerned about her husband’s risk of falling and his energy expenditure in these situations. | Adèle places the chair and the board that her husband uses. Considering her condition, Adèle cannot help him physically. They have a ceiling lever that her husband does not want to use. |
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2. Adèle would like it to be less physically demanding for her to help her husband wash himself. | They have an accessible shower. Her husband transfers to a commode that he propels with his feet in the shower where Adèle helps him wash. She finds it unstable on this chair since it is not bolted down. | ||
3. Adèle would like getting her husband dressed to be less physically demanding for her. | Adèle helps him get dressed. | ||
4. Adèle thinks that her husband will probably need medium-term feeding aids. | He uses utensils that are lighter and with a plastic handle that is a little bigger than normal. Adèle observes that her husband has difficulty bringing the utensils to his mouth. |
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5. Adèle thinks that her husband will need help with medium-term personal care. | He manages to brush his teeth with an electric toothbrush, shave with an electric razor and cut his nails, but this is slow and demanding for him. | ||
6. Adèle is worried because she feels she has less energy to go shopping because she has to bring everything back, put it away, and prepare meals. | |||
7. Adèle would like her husband to be able to cross the threshold leading onto the porch. | |||
8. Adèle would like her husband to be able to carry small things with him in his chair and that they all remain accessible. | Currently, he carries the objects between his legs and sometimes they slide off. |