Help is a Keyboard Away

Time 4 Seniors once provided transportation services to Seniors and others in need. It would be naïve of me to say our clients had no other challenges. Actually, it would be stupid. They each had more than one challenge, otherwise, they would have had no need of Time 4 Seniors. I can’t begin to list all their issues, but I know they existed. A few easy examples include arthritis and vision problems. Like I said, these are the easy ones. I am not discounting problems like depression or other more severe physical discomforts. I’m simply not addressing them in this article.

Today I am focused solely on those challenges many seniors face daily and how their lives can be greatly eased with a simple aid.  Many seniors suffer from arthritis. For some, it is quite severe and crippling. When I researched material for this article I went online, typed” products for seniors”, and was rewarded with several thousand websites offering a range of products. There were products for every category including clothing, kitchen, bathroom, yard tools, hearing and more. A few had me scratching my head, but the majority were simple, practical and solved a daily issue. There were literally thousands of products, far too many to mention, but, just to give you an idea, I have listed some here:

• Door grips;
• Easy tops with tabs;
• Stool with a handrail;
• Pill organizer;
• Walk-in tubs;
• Canes;
• Walkers;
• Shirt cover;
• Jar openers;
• One-piece clothing;
• Specialty shoes;
• Reach and grab extender;
• Amplified telephone;
• Standing grab pole;
• Bathroom aids

I could easily list by category several hundred pages of items, each designed to ease or eliminate a particular issue. The list above though makes the point of how easy it is to find these products. Any long-categorized listing by me would be counterproductive because thousands already exist. I have listed at random three sites as representative of what is available online. These include www.stuffseniorsneed.com, www.goldviolin.com, and www.elderstore.com. Let me state here that I have no ties with any of these entities and receive no money for mentioning them. They are purely random, serving only as examples of the thousands of sites available.  For people on a fixed income, don’t forget that Medicare or Medicaid might pay for all or a substantial portion of the cost.

Many seniors don’t have computers, but if you have an older family member or friend, who needs help with, for example, gripping a door handle, then the answer may very well be online. I cannot solve every problem or ailment your friend or loved one may have, but I can point you in the right direction. This is one of those opportunities.  That cane, jar opener or extender may be just a keyboard away.