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Along Life’s Way
Got a Grabber?
By Lois E. Wilson
I was recently introduced to a” Grabber.” No, it’s not the
grabber you might encounter who grabs your purse and runs. It is a
personal health-care tool. It is also called a picker or reacher. Its
purpose is to help one pick items up from a distance or down from a
height.
The grabber was necessary for me to use when for a time I was not
allowed to bend over and touch my toes, pick things up from the floor,
or twist and reach for a distance.
I didn’t realize how clumsy I was and how often I drop things or knock
them off the table or bed. I was forced to use a
grabber.
They are easy to learn how to operate—you put the grabber near the item
you want to pick up, hold the handle, squeeze, and the distant two ends
grip together. The goal is to capture the item. Grabbers are extended
tongs with a practical use.
I have seen my neighbors using them after a storm to pick up sticks in
their yard. I tried it once but found that although it is easy on one’s
back, at the time it slowed the task too much for me.
I ended up with two grabbers and keep them at different places in the
house. Before long I was picking up dropped facial tissues, clothing,
Cheerios, pills, and lint.
I was taught how to grab a shoe (now closed with elastic laces) and
hold it so that I could put my new 2-foot long shoe horn in place and
force on the shoe. Other clothes, and grasping them to put on, were
also targets.
Not many items escaped my grabbers. One thing baffled me—an oddly
shaped kitchen knife. It had several curves in its design and no matter
how carefully or where I tried to grasp it—it turned and stayed on the
floor.
I was chagrined that one of the people in my rehab workouts was able to
accomplish many activities quicker and better than I. My feelings
were soothed when I realized he had longer arms than I did.
My waistline hopes I start using my grabbers less and less. If
increased bending becomes beneficial—that should make my arms look
longer, right? Oops! I just dropped my pen. Where’s my grabber?
There, I got the pen without too much effort. In certain situations grabbers are good to have around.
Those of you who read my columns know I think of myself as a
“TOG”—that’s Tough Old Gal.” Since these experiences, my new moniker is
“Tough Old Grabber.”
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