00:00Alright everybody, here's pro tips for paras and the changing in the wheelchair.
00:05This was one of the things that I did not do at all when I was first injured. I
00:13always got out of the chair, onto a bed, onto a couch, something to allow myself
00:20to stretch out and do this outside of a sweater, but even then I remember
00:26getting so frustrated that I'd fall over and have to catch myself and I just
00:31didn't get the balance. Now we've got a little bit more balance and it
00:37really is faster in the chair. You might not believe somebody when you're first
00:43injured or dealing with the challenges that come with a wheelchair, but it does
00:51get easier. I actually now prefer to put pants on in a chair, so shirts are easy.
00:59Just lean back into your backrest. Shirts are easy if you have full arm function.
01:11Hold on to yourself. Occasionally still I'll get a little boisterous and cum so I
01:20almost fall sideways out of the chair, but here's the other thing. You can hit the
01:25ground with your hands before you go anywhere. So just remember if you're this
01:33will probably be another episode, but if you're going for a fall hit the ground
01:38with your hands. It'll stop you from pitching out of the chair all the way. So
01:45shirt first because it's the part of me I can feel and it's not always the warmest in
01:53my house. So after a warm shower shirts are usually the first thing to go on. For
02:01socks I just pick up my leg, put it on myself, roll them up like a small child.
02:14Pull it over. I chose tall socks to show because they're usually the most difficult
02:22things to put on. You know, push your toes, play with them a little bit, stretch them
02:28out while you put your socks on. Any sort of, you know, manipulating of your legs you
02:36can do a little bit of it here. Tall socks are the best also because of my freezing
02:46cold legs. Feet are warm usually and legs are chilly. So one sock. Again, I don't always wear them,
03:00wear them. But if I do put them on, I like to put it on before pants. It just makes it
03:05easier. The other way, start pulling and cinching and pulling. It's really no
03:13different than putting socks on a baby or child. Their feet do the same thing and
03:18want to curl up in the ends and straighten them all out. It's like two
03:23uncooperative twins. Pull it right up. I have no idea where these socks actually are from
03:35or what brand they are. They came, I was shopping on the ferry as they make you get out of your
03:41vehicle if it's over height underneath of the boat. So pants. This is a good thing for people
03:50to know coming out of rehab. They do tell you two sizes, two big, four pants make it easier to put
03:58on. But it also makes it just as easy for them to fall off at that point. So my go-to favorite thing
04:06for, oh gosh, years after getting hurt was black stretchy pants. They mask accidents. You can get them
04:18a little bit dirty. You just rub it in. I discontinued everything light and white
04:25with the wheelchair. So again, I pick up a foot, grab a pant leg, and I do have the benefit of being
04:37a para at this point. So I know a lot of people with spasticity, cerebral palsy, MS, things like
04:44that. They go stiff as a board. I don't know how you would do that if your legs were super
04:51stiff in a wheelchair. I think most of the people in my circle that suffer from that do
04:57get dressed in bed. The thing with this, socks make it a little bit harder to push the pant
05:08leg through, depending on what you're wearing. But then I do the shuffle. I bunch all of what needs to
05:19be up here on my thighs. I'm able to stick my hand and grab the back, this part of the pant from the
05:28inside. So when I pull it up, my hand can slide out. Then I give myself a hop, pushing on the wheel.
05:36Also, this gets difficult when you have shoulder issues. So you learn all sorts of weird, wormy
05:42techniques to put your pants on. But backwards, put your hand in this way. Don't wear grabby rings.
05:50They will cut and break your skin. I've always had long nails, so those don't bother me. But
06:00I've got pants up and on. And I'm always in shorts underneath. So this means I've got to
06:07pull down the shorts on the inside. But with these black stretchy pants, you can get your hand in there,
06:20no problem. And you can see these were one of the very first pairs of Lululemons that I had for right
06:31after my injury. You know, they're big, but that's okay. Pull them up as high as you want. Keep all the
06:39paunch in there. And then to top it all off. Because I live where it snows. One more sweatshirt. Over the
06:58head. Then again, just grab whatever you can to lean forward. Now we're all dressed. Thanks for
07:12watching Pro Tips for Repairers, guys. Cheers.
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