Disability Products That I Love!

As I am aging (just a little bit!) with a spinal cord injury, the “weaker, but still getting signal through” nerves in my arms and hands are tapping out. The experts tell me this is normal with my level of injury (C5-C7 incomplete), but it doesn’t feel normal to me. It feels scary! This wheelie-popping, manual wheelchair using, Cross-fit loving girl back then, is now too weak to push myself on anything other than a level. smooth floor, and my weakness and crazy spasms keep me from any productive arm work outs (still working on this though!). I use a power wheelchair, and self-care is truly its own full-time job. Having said all that…I LOVE hacking my way through this limited life by finding disability products that make my day just a little bit easier.

Here are some of my favorites!

Alexa!

I absolutely love Alexa and anything and everything that can connect to her. I can talk to her and with my voice alone I can control my TV, my overhead light, and get information such as the weather, and news updates. I tell her when to wake me up and she even reads a chapter out of the Bible to me in the morning while I am trying to get my body to loosen up enough to get up.

• I have a SMART wall switch which controls my overhead light.
• I have several of these SMART plugs that allow anything you plug into them to be turned on and off by Alexa.
• I have a SMART tv hanging on my wall. I also have the Alexa Firestick and I LOVE it! I can just tell her to search for “Play the next episode of the Good Doctor” and don’t even have to use the remote and push all those little buttons with these spasmy fingers!
• I can even tell my bed to raise up or down with my voice.
• Smart Thermostat – my kids got me a smart thermostat as a gift last year and it has been wonderful! A spinal cord injury breaks your temperature regulation and so your body can no longer control cold and hot. When cold, we can hardly get warm. When hot, we can hardly get cool. It takes a lot of external things to help us – heat or cold blowing, hot or cold showers, ice packs or heating pads, heated blankets or misters for sweat. When home alone, if I was too cold or too hot, I couldn’t reach my old thermostat. With my Smart Thermostat, I can control the temperature of my home from my phone. I LOVE it! Not sure if the kids love me having that much control now! 🙂

Truly, Alexa and Smart home technology has helped me stay independent and not constantly calling for someone to come help me once I get in bed.

Mobility/Transfer Aids

Transferring in and out of my chair is very difficult…and really, on the edge of dangerous, in the mornings when my spasticity is so bad, and at night when I am exhausted. I have found several things that have helped me:

• Bed rails for extra places to grab when I topple. (My bed has them built in, but I have used several different kinds over the years. I am traveling a lot now and need to get some that can travel with me so I can turn over in the night.
• Slick transfer sheets that really do slide you very easy.
• Transfer board that is lighter and easier to maneuver. It has spaces cut out for your entire hand to move it for those of us who can’t grip the board well. It also has built in grip tape which is very important for your board not to slide on you in the middle of a transfer.
• Adjustable bed – my bed raises its head and feet, but it also lifts the bed up and down. I never have to transfer uphill. I always lift higher than my bed or chair and let gravity help me slide down onto my next surface. This was gifted to me, but it would be well worth the money spent.

Pain Management

I think I should probably just stop with this category, but it is amazing what all you will try when you are desperate to find any relief. If it looks like it would help me with pain, and I can afford it, I try it.

• Air mattress overlay for my bed. (sweet friends paid for this for me!)
• Neck curve helper (my neck feels permanently crunchy and awful.) This does help stretch out those vertebraes and stretch the neck muscles that work so hard all day to just sit up!)
• Leg stretcher (this really is awesome, but it is difficult for me to do solo because my arms are pretty weak and can’t sustain a hold very long.
• Fuzzy slippers (I can hardly stand my bare feet to touch much of anything because of nerve pain. I have found that nice supportive socks (no seams), and a shoe help, but my feet feel the best in fuzzy slippers. I think the fur keeps my feet warmer and helps with pain, and the foam is cozy for the pressure of my feet pushing down all day long.) My kids might have had to pull an intervention last winter: “No MORE fuzzy shoes, Mom!”
• Pregnancy body pillow – this has been so much easier than stuffing pillows all around me at night to prevent pressure sores. It holds you in place so you don’t flop over – especially side sleepers!
• Shiatsu Back/Neck Massager – this feels SO good! It is amazing and you need to buy it yesterday. It lets you hang your arms in the loops (resting them) and that pulls it good and tight against your neck and shoulders for a much needed massage.
• CBD anything. I have gummies (with some THC in them for horrible nights with spasms), I have CBD drops for under my tongue that get in my system pretty quick and help loosen my body in the mornings, several different salves and pain creams, and rollers that stay in my backpack for spot pain in my neck, shoulders, arms, etc. CBD has been as effective for me as any of the neuro-suppressants I have tried – and that gave me really bad side effects. Lazarus Naturals is one of my favorite brands and they even have an assistance program that gives you a discount if you have a permanent disability.

Dexterity Solutions

This has probably been one of the greatest challenges to me trying to maintain independence….and the area where I have had to ask for help all the time. From the tiniest little things (like who is with me and despises those little coffee creamers where you have to peel the top off?!!!). OT was really helpful in showing me neat stuff they can make with a 3D printer and plastic they can mold around you for different helps. But…we all don’t have access to hot, molding plastic or 3D printers, so I am always on the lookout for anything that can help me function easier and take less time (it IS difficult to spray your hair with two hands trying to mash that little button!!) By the way…if you know of a hairspray solution, that would be awesome to tell me about in the comments!

Here are things I have found and use daily:

• Cat Tongue Grip tape – it adds grip to anything you put keeping your hands and fingers from sliding off.
• Rubber Pencil grips – you will need help putting them on, but they are great for makeup brushes, etc.
• Rubber bands – wrapping rubbers bands around objects also helps with grip. It keeps from sliding out of your hands and onto the floor, but it also lets you get some grip to unscrew objects. I can open my mascera with rubber bands on both sections, but without them, I cannot. It is too slick. Rubber bands shape to everything and can be added to almost anything!
• No Tie Shoe Laces – no shoe lace tying!
• These amazing pens – they already have a built in grip, but…they roll very smoothly. You hardly have to push. If I have to push down on a pen, it is already coming out of my fingers. I LOVE these pens!
• Gloves for Life – AMAZING!! You wear them, but they have crazy grip on the palms.
• Metal keychain rings – they loop on zippers and I have them everywhere. You can get a thumb or finger in and tug
• Plastic cup handles…or cups with lids that will give you a lip to keep from sliding out of your hand.
• Wall toothpaste dispenser – a lot easier than palming on the sink and making a mess!

I am sure there is more that I am not thinking of, but these are my top products I use every single day! Let me know what you have and use!