Disability living aids you might not realise would benefit you
This is a collaborative post.
Whilst we all know what the definition of a disability is, it is often hard to accept seeing it in yourself. It is also hard to realise that a health condition would benefit from traditional disability aids.
Here, I want to share with you some of my family’s experiences and aids we either have or have considered due to our health issues and disabilities. With conditions such as fibromyalgia, autism, respiratory problems and more there are simple aids that could make all the difference.
A bit about our family’s conditions
Whilst I know many of my readers have followed my blog for years, it may be that you have missed previous posts. It seems sensible to share our conditions again and how these impact our lives.
I have severe asthma which impacted my life minimally until about 2014. After this I seemed to often have issues requiring changes of inhalers and the need for nebulisers in hospital.
When I contracted COVID-19 in 2023 for the second time things changed. I was admitted to the hospital with severe covid pneumonia for a week on a high level of oxygen.
This affected my breathing significantly and I now am considered to have long-covid and worsened ongoing respiratory problems.
Whereas I used to enjoy going out for walks, shopping and on city breaks, everything has changed. I now have to drive to the shop 5 minutes walk away, walking there makes me breathless and causes chest pains and uncomfortableness for days.
I have recently been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea and use a CPAP machine for this at night. It has helped reduce my daytime tiredness and I feel much more refreshed in the morning.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2013, which affects me differently on different days. I also have mental health issues including CPTSD. My gynaecological issues cause me pain but nothing that a hot water bottle, pain killers and a few days in bed doesn’t resolve.
Ben has autism, Tourettes, and dyspraxia, he also struggles with poor fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Due to his autism, he struggles with planning and organising time. Ben has an operation on the tendons and muscles in his legs this month, too.
Stuart has osteoarthritis in his knees but doesn’t have a list of issues like Ben and me! His knees mean he has a lot of pain with physical activities and will probably need a knee replacement soon.
Living aids to help with respiratory issues
Whilst I have a CPAP machine which is provided through the hospital, but no other living aids for breathing. I have considered buying my own nebuliser from Complete Care Shop too. However I am currently waiting to see a hospital respiratory consultant about my ongoing difficulties, so want to get their advice first.
I use an oximeter regularly however which is very useful. A few times (including when I had covid pneumonia) my oxygen has dropped to dangerous levels so this monitors it.
The oximeter can easily tell me if my oxygen levels are normal when I have breathing difficulties. If they are showing as normal I need to increase my inhaler doses or go on a hospital nebuliser and steroids.
Alternatively, if they show I have low oxygen, I know I have more severe issues requiring oxygen therapy again.
Living aids for fibromyalgia and arthritis
My fibromyalgia has been very up and down for a number of years. At times I feel like a specialist mattress or even bedside grab rails would be helpful, at other times I am doing well and feel silly having even considered it!
Another living aid I think could be beneficial would be a tens machine. Until recently, I hadn’t realised there are specific ones designed for knees and elbows, so I might get one for Stuart. I also discovered one designed for menstrual pain which with my gynaecological issues would be helpful.
Realising that there are so many aids from grabbers to walkers and tens machines to pill boxes made me think differently. I am now more open to the idea of using aids of some kind. I guess they are all useful and if they help you, then maybe there shouldn’t be that internal doubt.
Living aids for motor skill difficulties
Due to Ben’s motor skill difficulties, we have often looked at tools to help him, especially in the kitchen. Simple tools could really improve his independence. Some things such as an electric can opener make a huge difference to his ability to be more independent.
Ben has had a wheelchair as well as orthotics for his legsfrom the NHS. We have mostly not needed to buy anything for him yet. As he gets older I can see there being more useful aids that will make a big difference to him.
If you are able to move around without difficulty, it is easy to overlook how important things like kettle tippers can be. They can be so essential and mean more independent living for those with disabilities or health conditions.
Our overall thoughts
If you had asked me 20 years ago if I would, at 43 be thinking about disability living aids I would have laughed.
In my early 20s, I hadn’t considered ever being in my 40’s never mind having health issues. At the time I had quite mild asthma and plans to have a baby soon, but that is all.
When you get pregnant, you don’t imagine having a child with disabilities and the whole idea seems scary. Now after spending years taking Ben to various appointments and getting various diagnoses for him, I realise this was naive.
Equally, 10 years ago I would have said my asthma was mild and didn’t really affect my life. No one had any idea Covid would come and certainly, I didn’t imagine struggling to walk 5 minutes around the corner.
All this said I feel so lucky there are so many aids I can consider to help both myself and Ben and to some extent Stuart. I am thankful for the NHS we have and the fact I can buy a prescription prepayment certificate. You never know what life will bring and should never rule out using anything you need to make your life as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
