Thank you for your time. It is an honor for me to be here with you today. You have chosen a noble profession and I believe that we can serve no greater purpose than to enrich another person's life.
The truth is, all of you have chosen to bring out the true champion in people. You fuel the flame of desire inside people to become better and heal one tiny success at a time, until humpty is pieced back together again. You make a person complete, and that's pretty cool. It is awesome!
Now, what I am about to show you is a solution to a problem very few people will admit to having. I am sure you, like me, have observed that there are very few people who fess up to having problems in the bathroom. Even though a patient’s chart says differently; their skin is raw and breaking down and they have chronic urinary tract, yeast infections and bad odors, they still won't talk about it. They sit perched on top of an inflatable doughnut just denying and lying, telling us; "Everything is peachy; I am managing just fine."
Honestly, next to picking our noses and passing gas, toileting has to be the most unpopular subject on the planet. Most people with serious issues would rather not talk about it at all. The really sad thing is there are millions of Americans silently suffering with afflictions brought on by poor hygiene. Most do not realize that they can be helped.
People who have toileting issues don't talk about it because they are afraid to lose face. Their independence and freedom to stay at home is at risk. If they admit to not being able to toilet they could lose their pride and dignity as well. Not talking about the problem cannot bring about a solution.
My daughter is five years young and is proud to talk about going to the potty; it has been one of her favorite subjects for quite some time now. I use to find it kind of humorous when Huggies would meet Depends in the check out isle at Meijer's. Some grandmother would inevitably wheel up on us and say hi to the cute little baby in the cart.
They would look at me and ask what is you daughter’s name or how old is she? Nika always answers for herself with, "Hi my name is Nika Izobel Beyer; holding her little hand out, what is your name?" They always look back at me, and then I would respond with something like, "This one does talk." At this point Nika would ask one of two questions, it would either be; do you have a cat or dog (or) do you have a toilet? I don't know if you realize this, but toilet is a swear word for people over 80 years old.
Some people would lose their hearing all of a sudden and ignore the potty-mouthed child, others would play along with her. Nika would then ask; what kind of toilet do you have? They never knew. Now that they were off balanced, Nika would drop the bomb asking; "do you have a bidet?" Their jaws would drop and knees would buckle and that would be my cue to step in and change the subject before they called security over.
When I was at Western Michigan University installing DignaCare's washing and drying toilet seats in their Occupational and Physical therapist's training bathrooms, I was able to take a quick look at some of the old fashion medical equipment they had on display. As I was looking at these strange devices I had an epiphany:
People over 80 lived when Americans were starkly divided between city and rural areas. They either went inside to the water closet and used therapeutic wipes. Or they went outdoors in little out houses and used whatever they could find; sage grass, leaves, corn cobs, newspaper. The favorite implement was the Sears catalog because the ink stayed on the paper and not your tush. Toilet tissue was a luxury, not a necessity outside the city.
We have come a long way advancing from weeds, leaves and corn cobs, to the sears catalog and then the invention of toilet paper in 1877. Eighty years later, in 1957, toilet paper became a main stay in society because Sears and Roebuck made the mistake of printing glossy pages ending its rein as rural America’s leading choice in toileting tissue. Since then, over 1.5 billion trees and trillions of gallons of water have been flushed down our toilets. Did you know that it takes 37 gallons of water to make one roll of toilet paper? That is 8.1 sheets per gallon.
I apologize, that’s getting a little side tracked. I will stay focused on the topic at hand. We are not here to talk about saving the planet. But toilet paper does leave a huge carbon foot print; and keep in mind that it cannot be recycled.
Give this some thought: in the last 120 years everything has evolved. We went from walking, to horse and buggy, then to trains, planes and automobiles. We went from sending letters and telegrams to using cell phones and text messaging. The only thing that hasn't improved is our hygiene.
Now back to the irony of all this. The only aspect of our lives that hasn't evolved over the last 120 years is the exact subject we avoid the most: going to the potty. Wouldn't you all agree that it is time for an upgrade; isn't it time to treat ourselves to a change?
The unspoken toileting issues we have to focus on here are:
1) Some people just don't want someone else doing the paper work for them.
I am sure you have noticed how assistance in the bathroom affects many patients. It is kind of sad isn't it?
The day my grandpa couldn't clean himself anymore, was the day he gave up wanting to live. It took two sad years of wallowing in self pity for him to have his dying wish come true. They say that with every heart ache and failure carries with it a seed of equivalent or greater value.
Grandpa's hopeless struggle planted a seed in me that inspired a dream to help people who were in a similar situation. Our invention was too late to help Grandpa, but we are not too late to help others.
2) As you well know, people who have limited mobility and reach find toileting to be a huge ordeal.
Do you think anyone has ever wished for assistive toileting technology – a machine that could wipe for someone?
Just the other day, I installed a washing and drying seat for an Occupational Therapist whose wife has Huntington Syndrome. A day after I put the seat on, they decided to go with a taller toilet. So I went back and put it in. When I finished his wife went right in and sat down, the husband looked at me and says, "She loves the heated seat. Since the remote works from outside of the bathroom, she can have her privacy now." He pressed the buttons with the door closed and ran her through the functions. When she came out, she walked over and embraced me and said, "Thank you so much, I love it!"
It has been years since she was able to independently use a restroom. There isn’t any amount of money that can replace the feeling I got from the sparkle of happiness in her eyes.
3) Millions of people are plagued with chronic UTI's, bladder and yeast infections, skin breakdowns, or hemorrhoids.
These afflictions don't have to be a way of life, washing with water after each time significantly reduces these issues.
Little Nicole sat there in her wheel chair watching me with great anticipation as I showed her caregivers at Harbor House how to work their new washing and drying seat. One of the caregivers asked her if she knew what the device was. She looked at me with hope-filled eyes and says, "Yes, this is the thing that will fix my girl problems." It has been a couple of months and Nicole hasn't had a UTI since.
4) Infectious bacteria are transmitted by the dirty hands of patients.
Too many people think that if they didn't have a break through, then washing their hands is optional. (A break through is when your finger goes through the paper and you can physically see the germs.)
When I was at Resolute Adult Living Facility installing a couple of units, I had to help Jack use the seat for the first time. He has Down syndrome. When he was ready, I showed him the remote and pushed the button. He grabbed both arm rests and his legs came straight out and he looked down to see what was going on. Then as soon as the water hit him, he started laughing. He laughed until it turned off automatically. Then he looked up at me, startled that it had stopped. I slowly put the remote back in the cradle and we left the room. We walked a little ways down the hall and heard Jack laughing again. He did it! He pushed the button and he can go all by himself now.
When your patients are pushing buttons instead of wiping, their hands will stay much cleaner and so will everything else.
5) Delirium is brought on by urinary and fecal constipation.
When a person experiencing dementia gets constipated it can lead to delirium and many other issues. A lot can be said for keeping a patient's bladder and bowels regular.
For instance, a couple of patients were forgetting why they are sitting on the toilet. It was quite frustrating for the caregivers. They were putting diapers on the patients, and when they sat down someplace else they would release. Now, the warm seat keeps them sitting, and the water spraying reminds the patient to go. It is kind of like when we step into the shower and our body say's, ok it's time to get back out and go potty. When the patient sits there wanting to go but doesn't, a simple push of the button will help.
A study done with spinal cord injury patients showed that using a washing and drying toilet proved to be successful 75% of the time in helping relieve constipation.
Washing and drying toilet seats should be a way of life for anyone with mobility issues. Right now they are being marketed to the rich and famous. The Opra Winfry, Woopie Goldberg, Leonardo Decrapio, Will Smith, and Barbra Walters types all love their fancy new toilets. Over 50,000,000 people from around the world can't live without them. In Japan, more homes have washing and drying toilet seats than have computers. When the Bidet wave hit Japan these seats out sold laptops, mp3 players and cell phones.
DignaCare has transformed something that is now being sold as a luxury item and gave it a practical purpose, a necessity for helping people who are challenged with their bathroom skills. Your patients deserve a little pampering and the health benefits are compelling.
Let me introduce you to the Dignacare Toilet Seat Commode – the totally hands free method of toileting.
DignaCare's washing and drying commodes provide:
1. The safe transfer height gives patients confidence and reduces the chances for a fall.
2. The seat is mounted to a dark surface to give people with Alzheimer's a visual break.
3. The skin sensored, warm seat takes away the shock factor of sitting on cold porcelain.
4. The antimicrobial self sanitizing twin nozzles can be positioned for accuracy.
5. Water is heated with controllable pressure.
6. IIP (not sure what IIP is – some kind of pulsating feature?) helps with fecal constipation.
7. Kids function is great for introducing a new user to the controls.
8. Add air to increase pressure.
9. Automatically shuts off after one minute.
Thank you for your time, and remember, if you ever want to end a conversation quickly; pick your nose, pass gas, or talk about how much you love your fancy new washing and drying toilet seat.
Seriously; don't be afraid to talk about it, DignaCare has the solutions.
