We had a visit from an Occupational Therapist last year and she made many good recommendations regarding changes we could make to our home that should make life easier for my husband. One of the suggestions she had was to raise our seating to make it easier for him to stand, including raising the level of our bed. So, we purchased a new couch with a higher, firmer base, are installing a taller toilet and adjusted the height of our bed.

Crawling under our bed and changing the legs allowed me to add 3 inches to the overall height. The change was a bit of a challenge for me since I am short, but it was worth it if he was able to get in and out of bed by himself. What we didn’t realize is that if he can’t swing around and reach the floor with his feet to push himself into an upright seated position, he is not going to be able to stand. He has had several close calls and I have even been called on to rescue him because he was stuck halfway up and getting ready to fall out of bed. Needless to say, I will be under the bed today adjusting the legs back down by the 3 inches we added.

The recommendations the OT made were appropriate, but they really need to be personalized to fit our situation. The couch is not the most comfortable seating choice for me because it is a bit high, but I can make it work. It does seem to be a better fit for my husband. If all he wanted to do was sit on the bed, then the added height would have worked. However, he needs to be able to lay down and get himself back up as well, and her solution did not allow him to do those things without assistance. I think the higher seat on the toilet will be good, we shall see. What I learned from this experience is that professionals may be able to recommend things that have worked with others who have PD, we are the only ones who truly know what will work with in our home.