Janet Engel (00:07.526)
Hello everyone and today I am excited to introduce you to Christina and Cindy. They are the co-founders of the Adaptive Equipment and Caregiving Corner. And they started their YouTube channel back in 2015 and then this turned into a business in 2020 right at the beginning of the pandemic.
Christina & Cindy (00:35.41)
Yes.
Janet Engel (00:36.094)
And I wanted to tell you that Christina is a speech therapist and most of her career was in long-term care. And then Cindy is a physical therapist.
Christina & Cindy (00:48.034)
Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (00:50.334)
So ladies, thank you for being with us today.
Christina & Cindy (00:53.654)
Yeah, thank you for having us. We appreciate it. Yes.
Janet Engel (00:56.682)
Yes, so I learned about your videos and your platform through
the owner of the smart hygiene company, Ilan Tia Guy, and he told me what great work you ladies were doing. And so I checked it out and I love watching your videos because I'm an occupational therapist and most of my career was in home care. And so all of the things that you say just really take me back to that time.
Christina & Cindy (01:28.126)
Yes.
Janet Engel (01:30.726)
and I wasn't making videos, but I always had my phone with me because I would show caregivers or I would show my patients videos of people doing things or I would show them equipment and then they knew what I was talking about. So tell me, what was your inspiration for starting the YouTube channel?
Christina & Cindy (01:48.322)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (01:58.526)
Yeah, that's almost us word for word, Jana. So Cindy and I were both in home health at the time. And we were driving home from my mom's for Christmas. And we were like, you know what? We get these same questions over and over again. And it was around that time when we started taking laptops into the home, so in 2015. And so we thought, wouldn't it be interesting if we could just address those frequently asked questions that we get?
Janet Engel (02:02.875)
Yeah.
Janet Engel (02:19.067)
Ready.
Christina & Cindy (02:26.826)
We'll put them on YouTube. And then when we go into the home, we could set the person or the family caregiver or our patient up with our laptop and that video that we're addressing the answer with or featuring a product. And then we can have them watch it. And then we, there was a, it was a win-win situation. Let me just say, because then what we would do is we could do paperwork and we wouldn't have to take it home with us. We got to finish it in the patient's home. And then they would watch the video. And when they got done watching the video,
Janet Engel (02:45.622)
Yeah.
Janet Engel (02:50.96)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (02:56.106)
then we could answer any questions about their specific situation because our videos are very general. So then we could answer their questions. And so, yeah, we just started doing that. We put them on, we housed them on our YouTube, on a YouTube channel because it was, just seemed like the thing to do. Yeah. And then they started getting traction. So besides us using them, people started coming to them and using them. And that was probably around 2018. So then that's when we decided.
Maybe we ought to try and make a business out of this. And we developed a platform where we could house those videos and then make a subscription out of them. And then we could also, we also created a website. And so that's what we did from 2018 to 2020 when we went live with it. So, yeah. And Janet, you know, as therapists in home health, we would all love to drive around a big van with every piece of equipment imaginable so that we can demo it to our.
Janet Engel (03:49.798)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (03:51.554)
or clients, but it's just not possible. So that was one of the big motivators, just like you, showing people different videos and things like that, because there's so much equipment out there and everybody's circumstances so different, it's nice to be able to have that visual, even though you can't carry it all around with you. Yeah.
Janet Engel (04:10.618)
Yeah, and I've got to tell you, the idea that you had about showing someone a video while you do your charting is just a genius idea. And you can count it as education.
Christina & Cindy (04:18.59)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, because we all, ooh. Yes. That's right. That's exactly right. Yeah, so we do offer. So the subscription videos that we have on our platform, we've got over 200 videos. But we do have what we call a professional caregiver plan. And that's kind of what it is. Take advantage of it like we did and use it as a tool in your toolbox.
and see if you can get back some of that time in your personal day instead of having to take the charting home and doing it afterwards. So, yeah.
Janet Engel (04:49.295)
You know, I bet you could get home care agencies to buy your subscription for all of their employees because they're more, you know, vested in than any other group in having the charting being done within that 24 hour period.
Christina & Cindy (05:08.25)
Absolutely. Yeah, that's kind of what we prefer to do. We don't like to market to the caregiver or the family caregiver or the professional caregiver. We really would prefer to have companies and organizations purchase the subscription and then give it out to their clients or give it out to their employees as a benefit almost. And then just know that they are the ones that said, we care about you so much that
We're giving you this wealth of information, this resource, to use either in your toolbox as a professional caregiver or at home so that you can, because so many times when that person, when your loved one is in the hospital or in nursing home, they get that skilled care, that training that we've gone to school for, right? When they go home, all of that skilled care falls on the family caregiver. So it's just, we just thought it would be a great.
Janet Engel (05:53.796)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (06:03.386)
benefit, a great gift from the companies that are treating their loved ones, to be able to give to the family caregiver going, we know we care so much about you and your loved one that we want you to have access to this so that you can keep yourself safe and we can keep your loved one from having to be readmitted to the hospital.
Janet Engel (06:23.47)
Right, right, exactly, which now is just detrimental for the bottom line of home care agencies and hospitals alike. Tell me, how has adaptive equipment, in what ways have you seen it transform the lives of individuals and their abilities to age in place?
Christina & Cindy (06:27.631)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, oh yeah.
Christina & Cindy (06:33.568)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (06:47.434)
You know, it's interesting because I am like a kid in a candy shop with equipment. I just, I just love it. I just, you know, I love all the, the different things that are out there because there's so much, but you know, one of the simplest things, and it, it sounds kind of crazy, but one of the simplest things that I love is, um, a tubular sliding sheet and it's the sliding sheet. It's not the typical sliding sheet where you put it under them and it's got handles.
It's actually a tube that slides on itself. And I mean, this thing is cheap, but I have shown it to caregivers that, when caregivers have to reposition their loved one that is not able to help them in bed, that is a chore. It's a backbreaker, it's hard, it's difficult for the client because of the sheer force when they have to be pulled or turned, but a sliding sheet. I mean, I think it's a $25 item.
can make a huge difference. And when I've showed that to some of our people that we work with, we go do home assessments and you introduce that to them, it's just like their face is just like, oh my gosh, this is so much easier. I can't believe I never knew about this, you know? So that is something that we really enjoy because like I said, there's so many things out there. We don't know half of it, but we enjoy finding that out and solution or problem solving.
for our clients and our viewers on those simple solutions that could make a world of difference for them. Yeah.
Janet Engel (08:20.95)
Right. Well, that's great because I've never heard of a sliding sheet. When was that product out in the market?
Christina & Cindy (08:23.916)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (08:27.85)
You know, I am not 100% sure. I know we did a video on it, what, about a year ago? Is it been longer? Yeah, probably a couple years ago, yeah. Yeah, we did a video on it. I just, again, we scour Amazon all the time and kind of look at different things that are out there. I've heard about the tubular sheet whenever I was in long-term care.
Janet Engel (08:43.002)
No.
Christina & Cindy (08:50.01)
But it's interesting because you just don't see those things introduced on a regular and a good basis in the long-term care facilities and things like that. I know I've talked to people before and a lot of things have to do with policies and following policies and needing training for everybody, but especially those at home that are on their own.
Janet Engel (09:04.619)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (09:11.018)
You know, you've got one caregiver that's trying to, you know, adjust somebody up in the bed or down in the bed or something like that. But yeah, we did, we did a video on it. We did, we had a viewer say, well, that's all good and fine. Cause we put Christina on it and they're like, well, that's all good and fine. But what if you have somebody that's 200 pounds? Well, by golly, we put Christina and then we put handheld weights on it and we did it again. So we have a video of that.
Janet Engel (09:36.137)
Oh, you did.
Christina & Cindy (09:39.626)
Yeah.
Janet Engel (09:41.51)
That's great because I used to just recommend, you know, higher quality sheets that had that sheen to it, you know, and so they're more slippery. And so that's what I used to tell caregivers, buy these sheets because then you'll be able to move the person.
Christina & Cindy (09:49.946)
Yeah. Yep. Same principle. Yes. Right. Yep. That's good. Yeah. Same principle. It is the same principle.
Janet Engel (10:01.75)
Hey, this is way cheaper because it's only $25.
Christina & Cindy (10:04.538)
Yeah. Just make sure you take it out from under them because they will slide right out of bed. That's right. That's right. It's got to be taken out. It's got to be taken out. Yes. It's on our on our website.
Janet Engel (10:09.762)
Oh wow, I wanna watch that video.
Janet Engel (10:21.098)
Okay, well great. So starting a YouTube channel comes with its own set of challenges. I know from having a podcast, it took me a while before I figured out how to do that and how to make it work seamlessly. Could you tell us about some of the hurdles you face in the early days and how you overcame them?
Christina & Cindy (10:34.427)
Yes. Yep.
Christina & Cindy (10:43.154)
Yeah, so with YouTube, you know, it's all about, there's a magic number of getting so many subscribers, which is a thousand, you know. And so up until that point, when you make, when we would make videos, it was just trying to get people to click to subscribe. Now, the word subscribe.
to me indicates there's some kind of payment. And I think that was probably one of the obstacles we had is that if I subscribe, do I have to pay to subscribe? And it's not like that on YouTube. It's you just click the subscribe button and you've actually subscribed. So that was a hurdle that we had to overcome. And just getting our stuff out there. I know it's when you start something like a YouTube channel or even like a podcast, you've got that. If I build it.
Janet Engel (11:12.767)
Right, right.
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (11:29.622)
they will come mentality like, and not just come, but come overnight, you know? And it's not like that. So patience is a virtue, but we just, you know, it was for us with our thumbnails on our YouTube videos, we would always just say, subscribe. I mean, every time we put it anywhere, subscribe, subscribe. We were like a broken record, subscribe. Until we got to that thousand viewer mark or subscriber mark, and then we got to be a part of the YouTube partner program, yeah.
Janet Engel (11:33.902)
What?
Janet Engel (11:48.43)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (11:59.386)
And so that opened up a bunch of doors for us. And it just made, so that's when we started to get, currently we have over 11,600 subscribers. Yeah, we're really proud of that. It's very organic, it's organically grown. And so we're very proud of the hard work we put in that. But, you know, so once we hit that thousand and some of these other benefits opened up to us, it made it a lot easier to start getting subscribers. So.
Janet Engel (12:06.322)
Congratulations.
Christina & Cindy (12:21.438)
That was the biggest challenge. Yeah, but we're not encouraging people to quit their job over that. Because it's not something that you will. It's not, you know, our business and we always say our business isn't a sexy business, so it's not going to go viral. We do it because of our passion. And yeah, so it's not something that... We've been doing it since 2015 and we only have 11,000 subscribers. That's right. So that should tell you something. That's right. We join...
Janet Engel (12:37.4)
Exactly.
Janet Engel (12:47.35)
So right, that's nine years. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (12:49.386)
We joined TikTok like three years ago and we've already got like almost 14,000 followers on TikTok. So I mean, that should tell you a little bit of something about the viralness of the two different social media platforms. So, yeah.
Janet Engel (12:54.587)
Really?
Janet Engel (13:02.702)
Yeah, I know when I started my podcast, fortunately I wasn't one of the ones that thought that it would be a success overnight, just because of the nature of the show. It's like, well, it's not sexy, right? But it is a universal topic, right? Aging in place.
Christina & Cindy (13:13.906)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Christina & Cindy (13:19.547)
Yep.
Christina & Cindy (13:23.006)
Absolutely.
Janet Engel (13:24.698)
And it actually surprised me at how many people started listening from the beginning. And you know, the more research I've done, it shows that with podcasting, do you know how many episodes the average podcaster produces before they quit? Seven.
Christina & Cindy (13:30.126)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (13:45.588)
Huh. Really? Wow. That's surprising. That's surprisingly low. Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (13:50.12)
Yes, exactly. So that just, you know, it lends credence to what you just said, of, you know, people having these very high expectations of, you know, the power of social media and how good it is, you know, whatever it is they're offering.
Christina & Cindy (13:57.154)
Yeah.
Janet Engel (14:09.73)
You know, and I tell people I've had my podcast now for two years or, uh, yeah, it's two years in March, so we're, we're in April, so it's two years in one month. Um, that it really is, uh, the long game that you're playing. You know, it has many benefits. It's brought, um, many opportunities my way. Um, but it's not going to be where you're going to have success right away or.
Christina & Cindy (14:17.622)
Mmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (14:37.982)
Right.
Janet Engel (14:39.298)
you know, it's going to bring you all this money, you know, it's not like that. And it's like everything else, you know, you just have to be persistent and you have to put in the work and you have to do that one thing consistently and offer value consistently. And eventually people will come and you will experience success from, from it. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (14:41.639)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (14:48.373)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (14:54.403)
That's right.
Yeah.
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. You have to be consistent and consistent. Every, yeah, every whatever schedule you set, it needs to be consistent so people can come to expect it.
Janet Engel (15:14.43)
Yeah, yeah, that's true. So tell me about audience engagement. So you have over 11,000 followers. You've built a substantial community. How do you engage with your audience? Do they write back to the videos? Tell us what, how does that work?
Christina & Cindy (15:32.958)
We get, yeah, we get a lot. So besides YouTube, we're on almost the other social media. So we're on LinkedIn, Instagram, like I said, TikTok and Facebook. And so we get, and each platform is a little bit different. The audience is a little bit different. So like on our Instagram page tends to be more of the young professionals in our field. On TikTok, it tends to be either the, they tend to be more of the sandwich generation.
Janet Engel (15:51.467)
Okay.
Christina & Cindy (16:02.378)
So where they're caring for young children and they're also caring for their aging parents. Or it's the actual person living with a disability that will view us. Facebook is more like our age or maybe our parents age on Facebook. That's a tough nut to crack, Facebook is. And then, yeah, and then LinkedIn, which is more of the B2B, the business to business that we reach out. Although there are still people out there, even on LinkedIn, they were like.
Janet Engel (16:02.47)
Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (16:07.9)
Right.
Janet Engel (16:11.051)
Okay.
Janet Engel (16:19.056)
Really?
Janet Engel (16:25.313)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (16:29.93)
I'm caring for my mom, I'm caring for my aunt, you know? And so this would be perfect for her, you know? So, you know, you just don't know where you're gonna run into caregivers, you know? So, but so what, so we do get a lot of, we get a lot of really great questions in what, so when we put stuff out there, we usually have some kind of a gadget, right? Maybe it comes out of a box and people love unboxing videos. So maybe we'll do an unboxing video and that piques people's interest. Yes.
Janet Engel (16:33.508)
Right.
Janet Engel (16:53.795)
Yes.
child so for many years he was obsessed with that gifts that opening the gifts
Christina & Cindy (17:01.818)
Yeah. And to watch somebody else do it, there's just, it's just the thing. And so, or maybe we just have some people that really are like, like Cindy and I, where we, we know what these products can actually do for people's lives. And they like that gadget kind of, maybe they like that gadget kind of stuff. And so that's interesting to them. Or they know somebody that maybe that particular product or the technique that we're training on, um, would be, would benefit maybe not them, but somebody that they know.
And man, the questions that we get, that's what drives a lot of our videos. So somebody will say, will either mention us in another person's video and say, hey, AECormer, have you seen this? And then we'll reach out to the company, see if they'll send it to us and we'll do a video on it. So it's kind of cyclical, where we get these really great questions and really great mentions and people look out for us on there because they wanna see it. I think a lot of people want to see it from maybe different angles and different.
Janet Engel (17:31.846)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (18:00.182)
perspectives before they buy it. Maybe they're interested in it, but they just can't quite pull the trigger on it, right? And so if I can go over to AE Corner, that trusted resource for me, or maybe I can go over to another similar channel that does this and get their perspective on it before I pulled the trigger on it. So I think that, you know, a lot of our success comes from the viewers and just being responsive to them. So when they answer.
Janet Engel (18:04.728)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (18:28.266)
when they ask a question, we respond to it as quickly as possible. You know, and then we start that dialogue. So, yeah.
Janet Engel (18:33.09)
Yeah. Well, and that's great because then it also helps you create your content. So they're right. They were helping you, um, create content that is actually what they want to see. Right.
Christina & Cindy (18:38.621)
It's a win-win.
Christina & Cindy (18:45.121)
Yeah.
Absolutely. And the feedback we get from, especially with, because we're talking about products, you know, it's, you know, we were just talking about the slide sheet, well, putting me on the slide sheet at 120 pounds, you know, versus putting somebody at 200 pounds, you know, you get those people out there are like, well, yeah, put somebody that's 200 pounds on there, you know, and, and so it's, it's that it gives that feedback maybe to the product, the company that has the product, you know, so we always encourage the companies that are, that we do the product review.
to follow us that way they can kind of, you know, check through the comment section and you might get some really good feedback on it. So, yeah.
Janet Engel (19:26.642)
Yeah, yeah, that's a great way to look at it. So you mentioned AE Corner being a trusted resource and I know that Christina, you and Cindy have created this kind of like a, how would you call it, the seal of approval? Tell me, well, tell us about that.
Christina & Cindy (19:50.094)
Yeah, that's it exactly. Yeah. So we do product reviews. Once we, our YouTube channel kind of got some traction and we did the subscription based model, our YouTube channel basically turned into a review product review channel. And so we get companies that reach out when they reach out. We, we'll take a look at the product. We want to see if it's going to meet our viewers needs. And
Janet Engel (19:56.911)
Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (20:06.566)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (20:18.546)
in order for them to get a seal of approval, it needs to meet our criteria. We want it to improve functional independence. We want it to be worth the cost. We want it to be reliable. We want the customer service to be good. So we put it through the paces. And when we say we trial things, we trial everything. And that includes, we have a incontinence company, CINI.
Janet Engel (20:26.426)
Mm.
Janet Engel (20:31.908)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (20:47.398)
and we trialed their product. And when I say that, I mean it. We trialed it overnight, we trialed it out in the public. And so we feel like our viewers deserve that. If we're gonna give it a seal of our approval as therapists and we wanna look at it through therapy eyes and from our backgrounds and history of being in the field, then that's what we wanna do. And so that's what comes along with that seal of approval.
Janet Engel (20:51.91)
That's fine.
Janet Engel (20:55.467)
Okay.
Janet Engel (21:02.117)
Yeah.
right?
Christina & Cindy (21:17.926)
And we don't accept everybody. We really try to give a lot of the companies that we get, and mainly, are small companies. They're caregivers that came up with an idea while they were caring for their loved one that helped them out. And then when their caregiving journey ended, they decided to become an entrepreneur. But we work with small companies and we give them feedback on their product. But if it doesn't quite meet
Janet Engel (21:20.354)
I'm hot.
Christina & Cindy (21:46.39)
what we feel is good for our viewers, we won't put it out. Or we'll give them some ideas and say, hey, you might want to consider this or that and come back to us. But we just want to be true to the viewers that we have grown. There's so many products out there that people just don't know what they don't know. We don't even know all of it. So we feel like having that trusted resource to come to, to go.
you know, we're not going to steer you wrong. Maybe this product wouldn't be for you. Maybe you need to go find a lending closet and borrow it before you buy it, you know, to see will it fit with yours. So Cindy and I, so once we get these products, now we've got all these products, we literally have adaptive equipment corner in our basement. And so what we do is we will put them, we've got a mini van, we'll put them in the mini van, we'll take them, you know, we've gone out and we've done a couple, two years of road trips.
Janet Engel (22:32.058)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (22:40.47)
where we will take them and stop at senior centers along the way, give a presentation, give people the opportunity to engage with the products that we have, and then they could ask us questions about it. And so kind of a try before you buy, because people just, I mean, you just don't know until you actually get to lay your hands on it. So we just figured that's the best way to become that trusted resource. When people see that seal of approval, then they know that we have...
We have vetted that product and we think a lot of it.
Janet Engel (23:11.838)
Yeah, and especially because it could be a large product that may not be easy to ship back or there is going to be a cost associated with returning that product, you know, and then especially if you had to assemble it, you know, and I would say for an older person or someone who's caregiving, it may be more work to disassemble it and return it than it is to just eat the cost of buying that
Christina & Cindy (23:15.178)
Yes.
Christina & Cindy (23:19.73)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (23:27.093)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (23:38.174)
Yeah. Or even if it's a, maybe it's a bathroom item and there's a hygiene, there's a no return policy. Now you're stuck with it, you know? And it doesn't work for you. Yeah.
Janet Engel (23:44.206)
Right.
Janet Engel (23:48.51)
Right. And that would happen a lot with those raised toilet seats that I'm not a big fan of because they're very narrow, especially for a man. They're very narrow and it's cumbersome to clean and for women it ends up being too high and their feet are dangling and so it just doesn't work. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (23:52.068)
Yes. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (23:57.749)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (24:02.263)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (24:06.29)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (24:12.898)
Yeah. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. So there's a lot of different things out there and yeah, we just, we just, in fact, uh, we just, the other day, um, we have all kinds of people that act, ask us about the suction cup grab bars. That is not, uh, what, what I, what I want to recommend is not what we usually recommend, but people inevitably will get those. So I have been eyeballing a set on Amazon and I.
Janet Engel (24:36.165)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (24:40.482)
pulled the trigger the other day and bought them. Wasn't very expensive, tried it out. Again, I'm still not recommending suction cup grab bars, but if someone is going to get it, I'll tell you what, we put this to the test and it stayed. It's not the full length, it's just kind of a hand grab size. It's a little disc. It's actually pretty impressive for a suction cup. That video is coming out soon, Janet. Yes, it is. So stay tuned.
Janet Engel (24:54.647)
Really?
Janet Engel (25:06.974)
Okay, great. And what's the cost of that?
Christina & Cindy (25:10.15)
It was about $25 for two of them. And yeah, they're about, you have to, you know, there's different specifications you gotta have. The suction cup's about five and a half inches in diameter. So you need the tile to be at least that big. You can't have any, you know, grout that it's gonna cross. Yep. Right. And no rough, that's right. No rough surfaces, no nothing. It's gotta be smooth as silk, but.
Janet Engel (25:12.902)
for two of them well.
Janet Engel (25:25.934)
Right. You can't overlap over tile because then it won't flexion. Yeah. I know it.
Janet Engel (25:37.135)
We out.
Christina & Cindy (25:37.582)
I'll tell you what, I was very impressed with the suction and ability. The indicator, the indicator. There was a good indicator on it too that actually popped up. So it's one that you actually pump up and the indicator will pop up and show a bright red line if it needs to be pumped up again. It was pretty impressive for a suction cup, grab, hold, bar thing. So yeah, that's coming out. So if I ever have somebody that just is totally insistent on that.
Janet Engel (26:06.658)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, okay. Even though I still recommend the wall blocking and the grab bars that are rated for at least 250 pounds. But yes, you have the people that just, either they can't afford it, they can't afford the process of having their bathroom remodeled to add the wall blocking.
Christina & Cindy (26:08.178)
then that's my go-to for sure.
Christina & Cindy (26:16.435)
Oh, yes. Oh, absolutely. Yes. Absolutely.
Christina & Cindy (26:22.858)
Yep. Yes.
Christina & Cindy (26:34.092)
Right
Janet Engel (26:36.754)
So all kinds of challenges that are going to change. So tell me about an inspirational story, an example that you have about someone that was watching your YouTube channel and followed your recommendations.
Christina & Cindy (26:40.854)
Yeah, very true.
Christina & Cindy (26:45.536)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (26:56.61)
Yeah. Wait, you know, yeah, we really, we get a lot of great comments and, you know, there are days, you know, this on social media, there are days that you don't get great comments, but there, we do get a lot of great ones that we just got one. The other day we had done, um, uh, crutches on the stairs and the, the gentleman, uh, well, I, I don't, I'm not sure if it was, but, but the person, uh, had mentioned that they tore their hamstring.
Janet Engel (27:17.368)
Okay.
Christina & Cindy (27:25.286)
And the doctor was advising them to use crutches and they were really struggling with just getting up one, up and down one step. And, and the statement was, uh, this video is a game changer. I was struggling to walk up a single step. Thank you so much again. Um, you know, it's those things that just read on those days that, you know, you kind of on a roller coaster and you're like, Oh my gosh, is this, what are we doing? Is this, you know, it's that type of thing that just is like, absolutely.
Janet Engel (27:25.607)
Mm.
Christina & Cindy (27:53.342)
We will keep doing it. I don't care if we work until we can't. We're gonna keep doing it. Because it's- It's so random sometimes. It is. Because you're like, when we put a video out with a product where it's like, this is gonna be a game changer for some people. And it gets decent feedback or it gets decent traction or whatever. But sometimes we put out a, it was a five in one multi-purpose bottle opener.
And so you could open different bottles and tabs and stuff. I think we got on for Amazon for like 10 bucks, you know? And people went berserk for this thing. Like they had never seen it before and this is awesome. And this is gonna be, you know. Change my life. It is, it's gonna change my life. It had padding on it. So for people that had grip issues or you know, painful arthritis in their hand or whatever, it was just, yeah, it was, it's so random what. Yeah.
Janet Engel (28:41.068)
Thank you.
Christina & Cindy (28:48.17)
You know, people are interested in. We're just showing the other day, we had somebody comment on the fact that we showed using a garden glove with grippy on it to open a sealed container, you know, just giving a little bit more resistance to the pinch. And the gal was just so excited about the fact that, yes, this is going to work for me. She's like, I've got those, you know, so those little life hacks people seem to really like too.
Janet Engel (29:11.206)
Yeah, well I can tell you that I've been saying for at least five years that Manufacturers don't want children or women to open their containers Because I have
Christina & Cindy (29:21.578)
That's correct. That is absolutely correct. I would agree with that 100%. Yes. No doubt.
Janet Engel (29:29.67)
you know, there are things that I'm like, I just, I can't open it either because I don't have the strength or I can't figure out all of the right movements that I have to make to get that container to open. But there was one.
Christina & Cindy (29:33.291)
Yep. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (29:39.242)
Mm-hmm. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.
Janet Engel (29:42.922)
One thing that I came up with that, and this is how I open jars. And I've been doing this for at least 10 years. So it has nothing to do with my grip strength decreasing as I age, because I think I started doing this, you know, when I was in my thirties. So I take a jar and I knock it on the table all the way around, right? And then I try it.
Christina & Cindy (29:47.658)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (29:55.054)
I'm going to go to bed.
Christina & Cindy (29:58.786)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (30:05.387)
Yeah. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (30:07.958)
If it doesn't open, then I just repeat that process. And I would teach that to my patients in home health. And they were like, oh, this is amazing. Because as you know, when you have arthritis in your wrist, doing that movement is so painful, right? And it's such a bad movement for your joints. And so to avoid that pain,
Christina & Cindy (30:11.225)
Yes.
Christina & Cindy (30:16.409)
Yes. Yes, yes.
Christina & Cindy (30:20.748)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (30:26.407)
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (30:31.05)
Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (30:34.838)
But even if you don't have that pain, it's just so difficult to open a jar.
Christina & Cindy (30:39.796)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I know we would get, we had a couple of comments on when we do jar openers and stuff that says you're trying to take my husband's job away from him. He's my jar opener. Well, sorry about that.
Janet Engel (30:54.387)
Yeah. So what advice do you have for caregivers and professionals about integrating adaptive equipment into care plans for older adults?
Christina & Cindy (31:04.063)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (31:08.166)
I think my biggest advice would be, you know, we need to think about, you know, even like I said, just even that slide sheet, think about what is the caregiver going to be responsible for and how much assistance is that is their loved one going to need. We need to train them. In my opinion, we need to train the caregivers and make sure they understand we've got to let our loved one do as much as they can. If that includes us doing tactile cues and verbal cues.
But we also need to figure out what is going to be the most efficient way for them to do whatever activity it is. And if that is putting in a piece of equipment with that, hopefully it's an affordable piece of equipment, but putting something in place because, you know, the caregiver is the caregiver. And if they are not taking care of themselves, the longevity of their caregiving days is not going to last. You know? Yeah. So I think probably, I think for me.
Janet Engel (31:49.956)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (32:05.01)
as far as adaptive equipment is think outside the box, that it doesn't always have to be a piece of equipment like your example of for opening a jar, those little life hacks and stuff. Or think about what you do in your daily routine, and oh, I used a wooden handle spoon to get a paper plate or something off of the top shelf. Guess what, that wooden spoon, that's now a piece of adaptive equipment. It doesn't have to be something that you buy from Amazon or off the internet.
Janet Engel (32:29.507)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (32:33.142)
that there are lots of things I think that we do in our lives that we actually adapt equipment to become adaptive equipment.
Janet Engel (32:42.83)
Right, yeah, and then that becomes a product. Yeah, is there anything else you ladies wanna share before we close about adaptive equipment and caregiving corner?
Christina & Cindy (32:45.93)
Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right.
Christina & Cindy (33:00.49)
I would say with respect to caregivers that you are not in this alone. That there's a whole industry built around helping caregivers maintain their health and wellness in their journey. And so please don't be afraid to reach out. Find your area agency on aging. Find a resource online, a support group.
to help support you in your journey as well. That it's, you are not in this alone. There's people all over the place that want to help and would do anything to help.
Janet Engel (33:36.502)
Yeah, yeah, and I want to reiterate what you just said a few moments ago about if you're not taking care of yourself, you're not going to be able to take care of someone else, you know, and that's so true, not just when you are an official caregiver to an older person or someone with different abilities, but just being a mom.
Christina & Cindy (33:47.105)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (33:57.23)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Janet Engel (33:59.123)
If you can't take time out for yourself to get some exercise, or get your nails done, or go shopping, or do a hobby that you enjoy like gardening, then you cannot give as much of yourself to your family. So by giving to yourself, you're also giving to your family. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (34:17.959)
Right.
Christina & Cindy (34:24.966)
Exactly. That's right. Exactly. Yep.
Janet Engel (34:28.154)
Yeah, so very important for moms. I can say I have an 11 year old and I have a 23 year old. So I've been a mom for a long time. Actually, I've been a mom longer than I haven't been a mom. Because I'm 46. Yeah, and I had my
Christina & Cindy (34:31.539)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (34:35.479)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (34:43.033)
Yeah. Wow. Yes. Yeah, that's an interesting way to look at it. Yep. Yeah. Yep.
Janet Engel (34:47.654)
I had my daughter when I was 22. And so, you know, I come at it from the perspective of seeing the end of the journey, you know, when your child becomes more of a friend, and then there's a lot less caregiving, you know, and a lot more companionship, and then still being in the trenches, you know, with my 11-year-old. And so I am much better now at
Christina & Cindy (34:49.943)
Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (34:57.853)
Mm-hmm.
Christina & Cindy (35:12.325)
Right.
Janet Engel (35:17.211)
caring for myself and putting myself first. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (35:20.142)
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's just important. But, you know, it's one of those things, I think that, you know, it's almost, I don't know, I think we tend to tell people that, you know, putting yourself last is very valiant. And it's, you know, and it's, I mean, it is, but after a while, what good are you going to be to anybody, you know, including yourself? So yeah, that needs to change. Yeah.
Janet Engel (35:35.726)
Yeah.
Janet Engel (35:42.779)
Yeah.
Right. Yeah, it does. Ladies, tell our audience how they can find your YouTube channel, how they can find your website.
Christina & Cindy (35:57.814)
Yep, so if you go to YouTube, just type in Adaptive Equipment Corner, and that's our YouTube channel. On most of the social media sites, we're either under Adaptive Equipment Corner, or we're as AE Corner. And if you go to our website, it's aecorner.com.
Janet Engel (36:10.137)
Okay.
Janet Engel (36:14.558)
Okay, great. Well, I will include all of those links in the show notes so people don't even have to write this down or, you know, worry that they misspelled it because all of the links are going to be there. And I also wanted to mention that soon, Adaptive Equipment at Caregiving Corner is going to be featured on our Aging in Place directory website as a resource for caregivers
Christina & Cindy (36:18.258)
Excellent. Okay.
Christina & Cindy (36:23.74)
Perfect. Yeah. Great.
Christina & Cindy (36:39.882)
Yes.
Janet Engel (36:44.412)
for older adults that are visiting. And I think it's just gonna be so valuable and wonderful. And it's gonna be the trifecta because we're gonna have a speech therapist, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (36:54.087)
Yes.
Christina & Cindy (36:59.134)
That's right. That's a dream team right there. That's exactly right.
Janet Engel (37:05.186)
Yeah, well, thank you so much for spending time with me today. I really enjoy watching your videos. It takes me back to, you know, back before the pandemic, you know, when I was in the trenches doing these things. And in fact, I had that idea back in like just probably 2017, 2018 is
Christina & Cindy (37:07.06)
Yes.
Thank you for having us.
Christina & Cindy (37:16.554)
Yep.
Christina & Cindy (37:24.285)
Yes.
Janet Engel (37:33.542)
You know, people need to watch videos on doing this. This is so valuable. They don't know about all this equipment that's out there. And even very smart, educated people, you show them things that to us, you know, it's something we've seen a million times and to someone else, it's groundbreaking. Yeah. So thank you so much and...
Christina & Cindy (37:39.253)
Yes. Right.
Christina & Cindy (37:52.566)
Right. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Absolutely. That's exactly right. Yeah.
Christina & Cindy (38:01.011)
Thank you.
Janet Engel (38:02.672)
Esther and I look forward to working with you.
Christina & Cindy (38:05.067)
Thank you.
Janet Engel (38:08.41)
Let me turn this on.