Has anyone successfully used a standing aid such as the Sara Stedy to help teach them to stand again, please? If so, were you successful?
I’m considering getting one for my husband, but the OT in the hospital he is currently still in says he wouldn’t be able to use it as he has no functional use of his legs. This surprises me greatly as his physio has said he’ll stand and walk again with time and effort, but the OT says he wont. But he can march his legs up and down, bending and stretching them out, tap feet, lift his legs up counting to 10 and slowly lowering them, the only thing he can’t do yet is wiggle his toes on his affected foot.
His left arm, and right leg were affected. Apparently rare. He’s working hard on his left hand/arm and plays a mean game of Connect 4 using his affected hand.
He’s adamant he wants to walk again, and I’ll do anything to help. However, some may recall that I wrote recently about the lack of private physiotherapists in our area. If he can persuade his GP to refer him, his hospital physiotherapist has said she’ll visit him weekly to help. Surely she wouldn’t have suggested this if he was a lost cause?
Hi. I came home from hospital 2 years ago with two Sara Steadys one upstairs and one down. My poor husband used to push me from my chair to the loo and upstairs from my bed to the loo. Don’t understand the bit about your husband having no use of his legs. I sat in a chair and the Sara was pushed right up to me. I shuffled my feet onto the Sara then hauled myself up by holding on to the bar on the Sara. Ok it’s not easy but can be done and certainly worth a try. Good luck
Thank you.
I’m at a loss to understand why they say he can’t use his legs either. He can do pretty much everything I can do with my legs whilst sitting. Maybe not as high or as fluently at the moment, but I’m seeing improvement every day (I work with him on his exercises every afternoon). He can’t cross his legs, but never has been able to. He’s had two knee replacement so knee issues shouldn’t hamper him either.
They tried him on something similar a month ago and their opinion may be based on that, but he’s come on significantly since then, so we’ve asked for a reassessment.
I suspect one department isn’t talking to the other as there was a bit of a set-to today over whether he uses a commode. They haven’t provided one for home use as he is considered still to be using a bedpan, excepting he’s been using a commode via his sling for the past week.
The bed, sling, and most incredibly impractical chair was deliver to us today.
Hi Helen. I suspect that because your husband used a bed pan in hospital someone is assuming he can’t get on to a Sara. I never used a bed pain in hospital as I hate them so much and the Healthcare assistants used to wheelchair me to the loo and the I moved onto the Sara. We were fortunate in that we have a loo downstairs as well as upstairs
. Before I was discharged from hospital an Occupational therapist met my husband at home to see what aids I would need like grab rails in the loo and shower the Sara steadys etc etc. I also had 6 months physio at home from the hospital team as well. There is a lot of help out there but you may need to fight for what your husband needs
I think its as you say, one dept not talking to another, and not being kept updated with his progress.
I certaily don’t see why a Sara Steady can’t be used for bringing him from sitting to standing and back to sitting again…unless his legs can’t take any of his weight. For instance, can he push against your hand with any force at all? That’s a different mechanical motion from raising and lowering his leg. He has the brain’s signaling pathway for one type of motion but not necessarily the another.
But just basing my opinion on exactly what you’ve written here, I don’t see how/why the sara steady wouldn’t help him. But how well would you cope with it? Would you be strong, steady and stable enough should he have a wobble and set you both off balance. Or will there be someone else assisting? The last thing either of you need is to take a tumble together. But I am no expert, so I can only base my opinion on what both anothers on here have achieved.
He started on a bedpan in ICU where was for a number of weeks (aortic arch aneurism repair). He was then transfer to our local hospital and for some reason they kept up with it. He’s still got a catheter in, which they won’t remove whilst he’s an inpatient but happy to remove when he’s home apparently, as they sent us two male urinals. Probably convenient for them on the ward.
We’ve had a fight to get a commode for home use, but that is a whole other story!
He’s been in hospital 4 months now.
He’ll get a care package on discharge, but apparently there are not enough care workers in the area to cover it at the moment.
There is no physio once he leaves, and there are no private physios in mid-Argyll where we live. So I’m putting my time into learning everything I can to help with his rehabilitation, hence the query about the Sara Stedy. Clearly we are going to have to fund it ourselves, but we both want the best possible outcome for him.
Thank you Lorraine.
I’m amazed at the strength in both legs. If he bends his knees and pushes back into my hands he moves me and the chair I’m sitting in backwards across the floor without effort or strain on his part.
The physio does an exercise where she puts the top of her foot beneath the bend of his ankle whilst his leg is raised and gets him to push his leg back down to the floor taking her foot with it. Even holding beneath my bent knee with both hands I cannot stop him pushing my foot back to the floor. Today was the first time he managed to scoot himself back a bit on the chair he was sitting on as he’d crept forward a bit on the inflated cushion.
Although I’m 70 (he had the operation and stroke on my 70th birthday, two days before his own 70th birthday), I’m pretty fit and strong. I had to move his double divan by myself yesterday, placing the mattress against the wall, and moving the base and headboard out into the garage for storage. Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean I could hold 15 stone of him upright. We’d practice in such a way as to give extra security in case he over balanced.
I’ve a friend who used one for her late mother and it was her that mentioned it to me originally before I started researching it myself.
From what you have said I would think a Sara Steady should be ok to use. Wechad one for my sad when hecwas terminally ill & he had very littke leg strength but we were still able to get him on it & move him from bed to chair. It was hard work but it got him out of bed. Sounds like your husband has a lot more strength than my dad did.
Good news re the physio too. Like you say if they are happy to come out to him then they must be surevitvis worthwhile.
Have my fingers crossed the physio comes off for you.
Renting a sara steady first sounds a good option so at least you’ll know if it’s any good or not. I hope you can get one through the system though. We did for my dad.
Then the OT is basing their judgement on out of date information of your husband or they’re talking through their hat.
If the OT still can’t see it then have a word with your gp or your social worker if one has been assigned, or even phone the Stroke Association I’m sure they’d be able to advise 0303 3033 100. You certainly shouldn’t have to pay for one. Each day he’s getting stronger and stronger, enough to be needing as he continues to progress. That OT has the wrong frame of mind for stroke recoverers.
I bet moving that mattress took a bit of doing Ours weighs a tone but I did manage to turn it on my own last time it needed doing, so good on you
Thanks Lorraine. We had a bit of an unintentional falling out with the very young, newly qualified OT yesterday as she wouldn’t let us have a commode at home either. Long story short, she stormed out telling us never to speak to her like that again! Erm, like what? We were just making a point that he uses the commode in the hospital, which she wasn’t aware of and he didn’twant to go back to using a bedpan.
What a palaver!
Moving the bed was a challenge. What was worse the next day was trying to manoeuvre the very unsuitable wheeled chair provided to us out of a bedroom, taking a left hand turn down a narrow corridor, whilst empty. No only was it a nightmare to move over a carpeted floor, it also got stuck on the timber floor thresholds which are a feature of a lot of bungalows here. And it will be that OT who has to come out and reassess it. Oops.
In the meantime someone has recommended a local-ish sports physio who does a lot of work on MS patients in the community and she is happy to come and help Ken with his muscle development.
Ours weighs a tone but I did manage to turn it on my own last time it needed doing, so good on you 
