Grandma has been in the Hospital for some time now and is going to be moved to a Home. (She had an unfortunate fall which included a broken bone. ) She's not as mobile as much now. But I was a little disappointed when I saw how her personal care was being handled. Her hair wasn't being done everyday (She has long silver hair that she always braided and wrapped around her head). And her Hospital gown looked a few days old. She was quite anxious when she saw me and fidgeted with her gown and hair quite a bit.
When I worked in a Palliative care floor in a local Home, I saw it important to allow residents to still be well maintained in their clothing and hair and hygiene. It made the resident, despite their condition, feel less conscious about themselves and also made the family more comfortable when visiting. It definitely made for happier "endings". But regular clothing is difficult to change on a bed ridden or chair bound patient. Front buttoned gowns are very helpful and look very nice, but are still difficult to maneuver when trying to toilet a patient. From a care persons vantage, open back dressing is much ore accommodating. There are a a lot of companies that sell dresses made this way, but a completely new wardrobe is not always an option for every patient. So in passing messages between my dad and his sister (who my Grandma was living with) we are hoping to change some of Grandma's clothing to make it usable for her. She always wore dresses, so that does give us a in closet selection to choose from.
My Aunt is a quilter, so I have written up a set of directions for sewing panels into the clothing , that I will now share with you! It is a PDF download, the link will direct you to the PDF I have downloaded to scribd.com. I am still exploring ways to make it a more direct link.....
Handicap/Geriatric Clothing Conversion
P.S After a chat with the palliative care director, they are now combing Grandma's hair more regularly. :o)
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