Transfer from bed to wheelchair with assistance
The assistant grasps the user’s hips and moves her to the edge of the bed, while the user supports herself on her elbows and twists so that her body becomes straight in relation to her legs, i.e., until she is lying diagonally on the bed. The wheelchair stands at a 45 degree angle to the bed. The assistant lifts the user’s feet to the floor and pulls the user up to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. The assistant stands in front of the user and grasps the user’s trousers, while the user bends forward and paces her arms around the assistant’s back. The assistant takes the user’s knees between her legs so the user’s knees do not collapse and to get good leverage. The assistant transfers the user over in a half-standing position. The user supports herself with extended arms on the wheels while the assistant places the user’s feet on the wheelchair foot bar. The user sits properly in the chair. If the wheelchair cushion needs to be adjusted the user lifts herself up with extended arms and the assistant fixes the cushion.
Users comments
The user, who is very tall, feels that the technique works best with short assistants. A short assistant does not have to bend as much to grasp the user’s trousers. During the transfer itself the assistant can stand with a straight back. The user has a sliding board. She teaches both techniques to assistants, but they all rejected the sliding board. The same technique works to transfer to and from the shower chair.