Modifying Your Pants for Use With a Sling (Easier Toileting) If you use a sling with a hole for the commode in a Hoyer type lift, this modification to your pants will make it easier to use the commode. Have someone slit the back seam of the pants. Then stitch around the open edges so the fabric won't unravel. When you sit on your sling, the pants get tucked around you, leaving your bottom bare. This way your pants are open in back so you don't need to remove them to use the commode. Obviously for this method to work, you can't wear underwear. It's possible to tuck the pants in at the sides so nobody is the wiser. But watch out: if someone lifts you to a standing position your pants will fall down! Hair Washing With a Tracheostomy and Mechanical Ventilation My nurse and aide devised an ingenious way to wash my hair without risking getting water in my trach. It might be convenient also for PALS with weak neck muscles who find it difficult to sit in a shower chair for long. Here's what we do. We remove the headrest from the wheelchair and one person holds my head. We back my wheelchair close to the kitchen sink and tilt the chair back. If your chair doesn't tilt, reclining it would have the same effect. We put a tall kitchen trash can between the wheelchair and sink. Next, we put a large, green trash bag around my head at the hairline and secure it tightly with a clip near my forehead. The trash bag isn't opened ; it serves to direct the water into the trash can. We drape another trash bag over my shoulders in the back and put towels underneath and on my chest. Using the spray attachment at the sink, one person washes my hair while the other holds my head. The water runs off the trash bags into the trash can. If you don't have a spray attachment, you could use a pitcher. Cathy Catherine Wolf Comments or questions may be directed to Cathy at cwolf@us.ibm.com