Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

could still communicate with me in small phrases. I spoke German to her, which she
enjoyed and responded enthusiastically to. After I issued her an energetic “guten
Morgen,” she would angle her head away from her neck so that I could wipe the sleep
out of her eyes. Pressing on the other button in the bed control enabled me to get Eve
into more of a sitting position. Once she was in this position, I brought the wheelchair
over, put on the brakes, and lifted her from the bed and on to the wheelchair. Once we
were in the bathroom, I told Eve to grab the safety rail next to the toilet roll. She lifted
herself up out of the wheelchair for a good ten seconds, which gave me enough time to
lower her adult briefs, and to swivel her onto the toilet. When she was on the toilet, and
with the sink still running, I handed her a toothbrush with paste. I took the same
washcloth I had used on her face, and rewet it in the sink. With this washcloth, I wiped
her legs and applied lotion, whilst wearing the mandatory latex gloves. Once she was
finished brushing, I gave her a small cup of water and a plastic hospital-like pan to spit
into. At this point, Eve looked at me and said “Ow…ouch.” She always did this whenever
she knew that I had to do something that would make her knees bend. Even when
operating the bed to get her to sit up straight, she would pronounce the anticipatory
‘ouch.’
After brushing her teeth and while still sitting on the toilet, I would gently take off her
nightgown and hang it on the bathroom door. I applied some lotion on her back,
stomach and on her arms. Somewhere during these activities, I would also flush the
toilet for her. A pair of ted hoes (compression stockings), which I had to put on her feet,
were always ready to be found hanging on the shower curtain rod. Ted hoes looked like
tight leg stockings, but they had two holes that only a few toes could peek through.
These ted hoes helped to relieve her heavy and achy legs via compression therapy. They
were hard to put on, and required Eve to endure a few seconds of mild discomfort. After
I got these ted hoes on, I helped put on Eve’s bra, which sometimes also elicited an
‘ouch,’ but a much softer and less sincere one. Once I put on her t-shirt and one of her
favourite sweatshirts, I then slipped through her feet a new pair of disposable briefs,
and a pair of baggy cotton pants. I also put on her untied sneakers. Finally, and only
after making sure that she was indeed finished with using the toilet, I brought the
wheelchair closer to the toilet and asked her to grab the handrail again. She did this
every time successfully, without ever slipping. As soon as she was up and hunched over
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