Post-op question 2: Do you have any tricks for closing the car door after you get in?

[mdtaffet]

My second question --

From the time I was first discharged, I have not been able to easily reach the car door to close it after I sit down. When I'm a passenger, my husband usually closes the door for me after I get in. But now that I've been cleared to drive, I'll have to find a way to close the driver's side door after I get in. I've already thought of using the cane to grab onto a part of the door and swing it in, but my husband dislikes this idea. The car in question is a 2010 Subaru Legacy.

Does anybody have any good solutions for closing the car door without harming it in the process (my husband is convinced that grabbing the door with the cane will cause damage to the car).

-- Thanks,
Mary

[mabeckoff]

I use my cane and have not noticed any damage

[LindaRacine]

Thread a belt through the door handle, and keep hold of it as you get in the car.

[mdtaffet]

Thread a belt through the door handle, and keep hold of it as you get in the car.

Linda, that's a good idea which I would definitely try if my door handle had a hole, but it doesn't. Unfortunately my door handle is a solid item that has no openings through which a belt could be placed.

[leahdragonfly]

I would personally use my cane if I needed it and don't tell my husband, if you can't use Linda's belt idea. I am sure the cane will not hurt the car, and heck, if it does, it's far better than hurting your back.

[Confusedmom]

Can you pull it part way shut after you are in (head inside),'but before you turn to face front?

[mabeckoff]

I would personally use my cane if I needed it and don't tell my husband, if you can't use Linda's belt idea. I am sure the cane will not hurt the car, and heck, if it does, it's far better than hurting your back.

My cane has not hurt my car in any manner

[mdtaffet]

Can you pull it part way shut after you are in (head inside),'but before you turn to face front?

My driver's side door has to be open very wide in order to "catch" so that it will stay open, otherwise it just starts to close all by itself. With the door that far out, I really wouldn't be able to reach it once I'm already seated, and trying to close it partway before I sit down would just lead to it closing on me, which wouldn't be good. So my only choice is to start pulling it in after I'm already seated, at which point I can't reach it without the cane or some other device.