Patient creates way to put on his pants more easily

Aly Cat, Bob’s caregiver, sometimes had to use a Hoyer lift and sling in order to transfer him safely.

Their routine was to stand Bob up, pull up/down his pants, and then place him into his wheelchair or onto the toilet or bed. Using the sling they were unable to do this. The first two days Bob would be transfered out of his wheelchair and onto the bed, put his pants down, roll him back into the sling, and then place him on the toilet.

This took a lot of time, so they had to think about a solution. They read several magazines articles about clothing for wheelchair users, but they were usually made of velcro or snaps and ran between $40 – $60 per pair.

But according to the patient, he didn’t want any of this types clothing for two reasons:

1. He had just bought a bunch of L.L.Bean flannel and fleece lined jeans to help him keep warm this past winter and did not want to give them up.
2. He was concerned with the timing it would take to get the pants on with velcro and snaps, the elements (would wind be able to get into the pants via snaps), and the wear and tear on the velcro.

So they had to think about other options, and they came up with the idea of using zippers.
They brought Bob’s pants to their local tailor and asked if she would be able to put zippers along the outside seams. She said "no problem" and that she would get sleeping bag zippers to put in to help with the wear and tear.

Bobby was able to keep all his own pants and shorts and it cost $30 per zipper.

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2vYfUjd