I recently took my 10 month old baby girl to see her great grandmother at a nursing home. We visited for awhile before Baby Girl became very wiggly and begged to get down and explore. I took her into the hallway and put her on the floor so she could crawl. She squealed with delight as she took off and I followed. Towards the end of the hallway we reached a closed door that peaked Baby Girl’s curiosity. Then all of the sudden we heard someone shout “Open the door! Open the door!” from inside. The voice continued to shout so (after getting a quick “okay” from a nearby aid) I opened the door. Inside we met an elderly woman who was clearly bed bound. She was pleased to see Baby Girl! But then very quickly she started to shout “Help her up! Help her up!” Baby Girl had crawled into the room and was sitting on the floor. “Help her up! Help her up!” The woman’s cries became more insistent. I tried to explain to the woman that Baby Girl didn’t know how to walk yet, and what Baby Girl wanted more than anything in that moment was to be free of her mama’s arms so she could crawl and explore. But the woman kept shouting “Help her up! Help her up!” Suddenly it dawned on me: This bed bound woman who could not get up on her own felt an urgent need to help another person would could not get up on their own. So I scooped up Baby Girl (much to Baby Girl’s dismay) and the elderly woman calmed down and smiled. On our drive home, I took a few moments to reflect on our experience with this elderly woman who we had never met before. Two things struck me: One is how much able bodied individuals take for granted simple things such as opening a door for yourself and getting up on your own. Mobility is such an important thing for all of us. And two, I was touched by how much this woman wanted to help another. May we all feel that urgent need to help another.   -Jeannette Prosser

Lift & Accessibility Solutions would love to talk with you about how to help your loved one open doors for themselves and be more mobile.