Going bye-bye

tcrosse

My next challenge is getting my stage 6 DW in and out of the car. She has suddenly stopped doing it on her own. I hate to use strong-arm tactics, especially in public. As for cajolery and sweet reason, that ship has sailed long ago. Any ideas?

extex

This could be due to recent trips when bad things happened to her, such as bloodwork,shots,colonoscopy, etc.  you may need to cheat and lie to her.  Tell her you are taking her to get her hair done, to her favorite restaurant, or for ice cream.  By the time you get to where you needed to go she will have forgotten.

60 falcon

Does she not get in the car because she doesn't want to or because she doesn't remember how to?  My wife is forgetting how to get in the car.  Not always, but it's becoming more common.  It's not that she doesn't want to get in, she just doesn't know the mechanics/movements needed to get in. So far I've been able to eventually get through to her brain enough to direct her on what to do.

It's so frustrating and I don't know what I'll do when or if she just won't get in.  There's not enough room for me to physically help her.  The idea of having her sit first and then swing her legs in doesn't work because the seat is too far in to do that.

I wish I had some ideas for you but I don't.  I'm curious to see if others do.

tcrosse

60 falcon:

That's exactly how things are. She just stands there by the open car door and resists any sort of pushing or prodding. If she won't move in a reasonable time, I take her away from the car for a few minutes, then come back and try again. Sometimes it works. 

Ed1937

Is she resisting because she is afraid of something? Or is she resisting because "You're not going to tell me what to do"? Or maybe it's because she no longer knows how to get in the car. If she is able to converse with you, ask her why she won't get in. Then try to figure out how to best handle it.

Marie58

My DH is in MC and hasn't been in a car for at least a year. At that time, I had to give him verbal and physical cues, assistance and lots of time. I put my hand on his head so he didn't bump it, I nudged him a little toward the car to get him in, I lifted his feet into the car once he sat down, I held his hand to help him out after putting his feet on the ground, and so on. Fortunately I didn't have to use strong arm tactics since he's much bigger than I and it would never have worked! The cues and my assistance worked.