A friend of mine has a grandmother that is 72 years old. He was telling me that she has trouble standing for any length of time. I told him how she could benefit from a number of great aids for unstable folks. I explained to him how dangerous it could be if his grandma where to fall. So we sat down and spent a bit of time planning out and looking up some items to protect her in her home.

I started thinking about the most vulnerable times of the day she could get hurt, and how I could prevent it. Obviously the shower is a big risk for her, so I decided to get her a shower chair. She could fall down and break a bone easily, since her body isn’t physically stable enough to resist the slippery, wet floor. So I spent the whole evening yesterday, trying to pick out a shower chair.

After I had made my purchase from the store, I decided to gift wrap it. I wanted it to be special, so my grandmother would appreciate it as a token of goodwill, and a treasure to her safety. And besides, the gold wrapping paper was so shiny, it gave the box itself a valuable demeanor. The gold, shiny wrapping paper basically took the box under its wing like it was destined for good use. And in all reality it was, even though it was just a box. It harbored the most precious thing to guard my grandmother’s safety.

Last night I drove over to her apartment. As soon as I walked through the door, she saw the golden wrapped present, and was quite astonished. “Is that for me?” she asked. And I said “Why yes it is, Grandma. Why don’t you open it?” She was very pleased with her gift.

I got a call this morning, it was a little early for me considering it was sunday and I like to sleep in. I had to laugh though for not wanting the shower chair she sure was excited about it. What a relief, I am going to look and see if I can find some more great safety products for around her house.

I think someday she will have to use a wheel chair. They even make rolling shower chairs that you can wheel around just like a wheelchair. It never ceases to amaze about the things people come up with to make life a little easier.

I love my grandmother even though she is a stubborn old coot. I say that with the utmost respect. I have tried everything to get her to move out of that old apartment. I just cant stand the fact she is living by herself. I have comfort in knowing that I have tried and provided her with things to make her living situation as safe and comfortable as I can.