Stair climber

My Dad got his stair climber in on Thursday!  My brother and uncle put it together in under 2 hours!  My kids tried it out and think it's pretty cool!  I'm inclined to agree!  I love that life will be that much easier getting him up and down the stairs. Mom said his stomach muscles were working a little better the past couple of days.  On Saturday Dad reported that the stair climber was working well and then I saw mom cut up his food.  Mom is working so hard!  She cuts up his food, feeds him, gives him a drink, helps him go to the bathroom (using a portable urinal that stinks) as we all leave the room.  It's hard work.  I'm so excited for our family pictures this week!

Backtracking

 This was back in July

 He was starting to have problems, but was still mobile, even if slow.

 He used a cane for awhile.

 He could talk understandably and hold a baby!

 He was able to go to Restaurants.

 And hold himself and his own bag (back in August).

 He even had a little extra weight to carry around.

 This is my Uncle and husband (his first time) helping him up the stairs.  It's scary dangerous!  I was considering installing a rope and pulley system with a harness to get him up and down easier.

He is very dependent on his walker and we're very grateful he can still use it!

To start off with, I'm the oldest of six kids and my Dad has ALS.  He started having symptoms about a year ago, and already things aren't going well.  There are so many times that we hear later, oh you should have done this a month ago and then it would have been free.  Just in case someone else is going through this, we wanted to give you a little heads up on some things you can expect, some helps that could be available for you, etc.  This is a hard to diagnose disease that is terrible to watch happen to your loved one, but we still have him him with us, and so we're okay!

I won't be the only one writing in this, I'll have my sisters check in and maybe my mom (who is doing her own blog).  We wish we knew more and could do more, but we're learning more everyday!

At this point my Dad has limited mobility, so mainly he sits in his chair all day until it's time to eat or go to bed.  His chair kicks him out and he has to have someone hold his walker in front of him until he is balanced.  Then he can go on the main level.  Getting up the stairs in the split level my parents own is ridiculously hard.  My Dad luckily is well-loved, so he has my amazing mom, her fantastic brother and a terrific son-in-law that help him up and down the stairs everyday.  He has to wear a gait belt, just in case he starts to fall, and they move one foot at a time to get him up the stairs.  We're really excited that the chair lift for the stairs should be in next weekend.  I've already watched the installation videos and I'm ready to install it!  It's about $1400, but the comfort from knowing he won't be falling up or down the stairs is priceless!  I try not to watch when I'm there, because it freaks me out (and I saw him fall at the top once)!  But, better days are coming!

We're also impatiently waiting on the paperwork to get the house redone.  They're going to completely change the family room into a master suite by adding on to the house.  I'm excited for that to get started, because they'll be adding in a lift to that floor!  Then Dad will be able to get in and out of the house easier!

This disease is hard on everyone, but there are helpful hints that we'll be trying to share!  Let me know if you have questions and I'll do my best to answer them (or get more answers)!

Just know that no matter what happens, it will be okay!