I’ve got a few pts on my caseload right now who probably weigh about 350 pounds each. That is about 3x my body weight. Something that I know is true when working with obese people is that they have decreased bed mobility. They have extra girth around their body that limits the ability to get in and out of bed. As an occupational therapist, this also applies to other activities of daily living. Some pts are so large that they cannot do post-toilet hygiene or tie their shoes. The hospital bathrooms are too narrow for the pt to comfortably use. I am not prejudiced against obese people. My whole immediate family is obese. I am simply acknowledging that as an occupational therapist analyzing the abilities of people to do activities of daily living, being morbidly obese hinders independence in occupational performance. It especially makes it more difficult to recover more easily from a life saving surgery.
One pt had abdominal surgery. He has a large belly, bigger than Santa Claus. It is getting in the way of getting in and out of bed. He has no problem walking. He’s steady on his feet. Another pt has abdominal pain and bloating. She is also very weak from cancer. She is so bottom heavy that it’s hard to get the right momentum to get out of a chair. The extra poundage is hard to move against gravity and the less you move, the harder you have to work to get better. I’m doing my part by seeing these pts daily and encouraging to move around more. It’s working but not without its challenges. You can seriously injure yourself trying to move a heavy pt. Do not do it by yourself. I usually have the pts do as much as they can for two reasons: 1. it’s therapeutic for them and 2. I want to limit my exposure to injury as much as possible. Nursing staff, on the other hand, feel they are limited in time so they try to do more of the work, instead of giving the pt a few minutes to do it on their own. As a healthcare worker, you need to protect yourself first, before the pt. If you hurt your back trying to move someone, you would be no use to them or yourself.
It’s important to have good problem solving as a therapist, to be able to get yourself out of a jam when needed.