Tip: Raise The Height Of Your Recliner

This Tip illustrates how I raised the height of our recliner sofa to make it easier for me to stand up and sit down.  This Tip was prompted by a discussion at a meeting of the Palmetto ALS Support Group (Lancaster, SC).

I have had trouble getting up from low chairs ever since my bout of Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome.  I have always assumed that most chairs are designed for people much shorter than my 6’ height.  I assumed that shorter people could stand up from a low chair easier than I could.  I was one of the taller people at the Support Group; the ladies were much shorter than I am.  Somehow, the topic of getting up from chairs came up.  I mentioned what I had done to raise our recliner couch and everybody seemed excited about the idea.  Apparently a lot of ALS patients must have recliners and also have trouble standing up from them.

The following is a step-by-step description of what I did to the couch.

1.     My recliner has a leveling screw on the bottom of each corner.  I got someone to help me tip the couch so that one of the leveling screws was several inches off the floor.  I put something under the front frame to hold the couch off the ground.

2.     I unscrewed one of the leveling screws.

3.     I took the leveling screw to my local hardware store.  I searched for a nut that would fit the leveling screw.  Then I used the nut to find four 4 inch bolts that matched the leveling screw.  I also purchased four flathead washers that fit the bolts.

4.     Next I went to my local lumberyard and had a 4” X 4” board sawed into four blocks about six inches long.  Most lumberyards will make these cuts for free.

5.     Next I found a local machine shop with a drill press and had a hole drilled in each block.  The hole is just large enough for the bolt to slip through.

6.     I went home and painted each block to match the color of the recliner; or you could match the carpet.

7.     I got somebody to help me tilt the couch back farther.  Again I propped it up for safety.  Then I took a bolt with a spacer nut and inserted it in the hole in the block.  I screwed the bolt into the hole for the leveling screw.  Then I repeated the process for the other three corners.

Everything has worked for at least three years; and our couch takes a lot of punishment.

This picture shows the block under the rear corner of the recliner couch.

Esther, my beautiful wife, demonstrating that the recliner with blocks is still as comfortable as ever.

Brother, Can You Spare A Hug?

Since I have lost my voice, I have developed a great craving for human contact----either a hug, a handshake or just a pat on the arm.

When I was in Rehab at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore after my bout of Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome, many of the nurses and therapists went out of their way to give hugs and pats to their patients.  I appreciated the attention but did not recognize their therapeutic value.

A simple Google of “hugs have therapeutic value” brought up 8,500 hits.  One article “The Therapeutic Value of a Hug” by Glen Fiero quotes a book Touching: The Human Significance of Skin by Dr. Ashley Montagu:

 http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Therapeutic-Value-of-a-Hug&id=2515633

Dr. Montagu writes,

“Both the hugger and the person being hugged benefit because they have the immediate positive outcome of feeling good.  Hugs are heartwarming and can have the effect of leaving one energized and rejuvenated.  A caregiver’s hug accurately expresses to a child feelings of love, acceptance, comfort and a desire for closeness.”

“Hugging is health-enhancing because it reduces tension and stress, aids the immune system, helps with sleep, assists in building self-esteem and best of all has no negative side effects.  When we open our hearts and arms to others, we inspire them to do likewise.”

In “A Touch of Love”, Eric Kreye says:

http://www.amazingjoy.com/helpdailyliving/help18hug.htm

“Jesus knew the importance of touching and He used it in His contact with people all the time.”

“Mark 10 records an occasion when "they brought young children to Him, that He might touch them."

“In Bible times leprosy was the most dreaded disease and was incurable.  Since it was also contagious, anyone who had it was shunned.  In fact, such a person was sent away from the rest of society.  The constant call "unclean, unclean" was a sickening cry by lepers as they begged for food and clothing. They were the untouchables of that society.”

“But Jesus wasn't afraid to give a touch of love.  When a leper approached Him one day asking for healing, Jesus "moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him...."  Immediately the man was made completely well.  (See Mark 1:40-42.)”

“There was healing in a touch from Jesus.  By His touch the blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk and run.’

According to Kreye “Professionals in the field of medicine know the value of touch. At New York University the therapeutic value of touch is part of their nursing program. One study revealed that 93% of doctors believe that touch helps relieve a patient's fear of treatment.”

I guess that I am not out of line in asking “Brother, can you spare a hug?”