Obviously I didn't give enough info. He has PD with LBD. He falls sometimes, as much as 3-4 times a week. He had a bad fall which resulted in torn bicept. PT and OT. He is not resistant. He just doesn't get it. He keeps asking where to put it. If I put it in front of him, he works his way around it. Letting him fall is not the answer. I've begged, pleated, cried, put signs on it-no avail.
My mother with dementia fell 95x while living in AL and then Memory Care AL. NINETY FIVE TIMES. It was nobody's fault that she fell, either. She was monitored and all sorts of precautions were taken to ensure she didn't fall, but she still fell. Before she became wheelchair bound, she'd use her walker when she felt like it. Which was once in a while. No matter who pleaded with her, it went in one ear and out the other, same with my father, who fell and broke his hip as a result of 'not needing his walker.' He didn't even have dementia.
After mom went into MC with moderate dementia, she became wheelchair bound and I thought AHA, THIS will prevent her from falling! I was wrong. She went on to fall even MORE often than before she went into the w/c. She'd fall off the toilet, out of bed, off the wheelchair, constantly and continuously, b/c she'd forget she couldn't walk.
You begging, pleading, crying and putting signs on the walker won't change a thing. Dementia means your DH can no longer remember why he needs a walker, nor can he remember to read the signs you put up, or why you're crying.
So, as has been said before, there is no way to get your spouse to use a walker. You just do your best job to keep him safe and let the chips fall where they may. You educate yourself about Parkinson's and dementia, learning all you can about what's going on in his world, and that's probably the most helpful advice you'll get.
I suggest you read this 33 page booklet (a free download) which has THE best information ever about managing dementia and what to expect with an elder who's been diagnosed with it. It has a lot of helpful tips and tricks, do's and don'ts in it, which may prove beneficial to you as DHs caregiver:
Understanding the Dementia Experience, by Jennifer Ghent-Fuller
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/210580
Wishing you the best of luck with a difficult situation.
Another option is to make the walker into something special. Some walkers are decorated by the family, or others. I once met (online) a woman who specialized in painting walkers with themes that were inspiration to patients using them. I.e., roses on some walkers, fish or cars for men...something which sparked positive thoughts on looking at the legs, as opposed to just metal projections.
A basket that's decorated might also attract his attention. What are his specific interests? What were his favorite activities before he developed LBD? What did he do professionally when he was working? What interests him?
These might not even help, but they're worth a try. It seems that getting him to understand, then use, the walker might be the issue - can you think of ideas that fall in this category?
You wrote that he "just doesn't get it" - do you mean he doesn't understand the function of a walker? If so, there's an exercise that my father did that might create brain patterning, although I'm not sure that's possible, depending on his stage of LBD.
The PT facility had an arrangement with ladder like separations on the floor. Even if they're not specifically ladders, a painted lookalike might work.
Patients practice, over and over, walking from one ladder "step" to the next. If you could think of something like this, with designs (secured so he doesn't trip on them) it might produce some interest. (The securing is a major concern though, so that there are no trip hazards. I don't recall how the PT facility handled this though.)