Seven days after the accident, and two days after installation of the halo, the doctor decided I could go home. My physiotherapist argued against it, feeling it was too soon, but the doctor won out. I was apprehensive, but overall, happy to be going home. They gave me instructions about the halo, handed me my medications, and off I went.
There`s nothing quite like home, and there`s nothing like the comfort of sleeping in your own bed. Except when your head is hanging suspended between four metal posts. It didn`t occur to me that I might have problems sleeping in my bed. I forgot that my hospital bed was raised, and that I had been sleeping in a semi-seated position. It didn`t take me long to realize that this was going to be a big problem. Laying flat meant that all of the weight of my head was on the metal bars, and subsequently, on my pins. That hurt, alot. After a long, tearful, miserable night, my husband decided that I was going to be needing an adjustable hospital bed if he or I were ever going to get any sleep. We mentioned this to my sister's partner who is in the business of ergonomics and rehabilitation. He quickly made arrangements and that very afternoon, two days before Christmas, I got a spanking new hospital bed delivered to my house. I don`t know how he did it, but I thank him from the bottom of my heart.
That bed saved me and I slept in it, in our downstairs den, for five weeks. It was always a struggle to find just the right position, but once I did, I stayed that way all night. I slept in a semi-reclined position, and as I slowly got used to the sensation of pressure on the bars, I began to lower the bed, little by little. That bed was the single most important element in my recuperation. I always had a place to rest during the day, and it allowed me to get some well needed sleep at night. I highly recommend one should you find yourself in a similar situation, God forbid.
The bed also came in very handy for hair washing. You can`t just step into a shower when you`re wearing a halo vest, nor can you bend over a sink. You have to keep water away from the lining at all costs. So the only way we (my husband and I) came up with was for me to lay on my back with my head slightly extended over the end. My husband would then place a large pail underneath to catch the water, which he would pour over my head from a watering can. At first it was uncomfortable and the head of the bed had to be slightly raised. This didn`t make it easy to wash the hair, but it was (much) better than nothing. And, since it is impossible to do this yourself, it helps alot if you have a kind, patient, husband/partner to do it for you, like I do :). My recommendation : use little shampoo, and rinse, rinse, rinse. No conditioners allowed.
There`s nothing quite like home, and there`s nothing like the comfort of sleeping in your own bed. Except when your head is hanging suspended between four metal posts. It didn`t occur to me that I might have problems sleeping in my bed. I forgot that my hospital bed was raised, and that I had been sleeping in a semi-seated position. It didn`t take me long to realize that this was going to be a big problem. Laying flat meant that all of the weight of my head was on the metal bars, and subsequently, on my pins. That hurt, alot. After a long, tearful, miserable night, my husband decided that I was going to be needing an adjustable hospital bed if he or I were ever going to get any sleep. We mentioned this to my sister's partner who is in the business of ergonomics and rehabilitation. He quickly made arrangements and that very afternoon, two days before Christmas, I got a spanking new hospital bed delivered to my house. I don`t know how he did it, but I thank him from the bottom of my heart.
That bed saved me and I slept in it, in our downstairs den, for five weeks. It was always a struggle to find just the right position, but once I did, I stayed that way all night. I slept in a semi-reclined position, and as I slowly got used to the sensation of pressure on the bars, I began to lower the bed, little by little. That bed was the single most important element in my recuperation. I always had a place to rest during the day, and it allowed me to get some well needed sleep at night. I highly recommend one should you find yourself in a similar situation, God forbid.
The bed also came in very handy for hair washing. You can`t just step into a shower when you`re wearing a halo vest, nor can you bend over a sink. You have to keep water away from the lining at all costs. So the only way we (my husband and I) came up with was for me to lay on my back with my head slightly extended over the end. My husband would then place a large pail underneath to catch the water, which he would pour over my head from a watering can. At first it was uncomfortable and the head of the bed had to be slightly raised. This didn`t make it easy to wash the hair, but it was (much) better than nothing. And, since it is impossible to do this yourself, it helps alot if you have a kind, patient, husband/partner to do it for you, like I do :). My recommendation : use little shampoo, and rinse, rinse, rinse. No conditioners allowed.
I got a shower attachment for our tub and my wife was able to lay in two chairs with her head/halo hanging over the tub. We had it where I could wash and rinse her hair in just a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteHi. Yes, I saw a picture of that on your blog. Good idea. And we did try that actually, but at the time I was unable to lay flat on my back. That`s where the bed came in handy. We could raise it just enough so that I didn`t have so much pressure on my bars. It took a while to rinse though as we didn`t have direct access to a faucet. Yours is a better way if the person can tolerate being flat on his/her back. Thanks for the feedback.
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