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| Diane The Pink House On The Corner |
One of the first things I did, when we got the settlement, was order two things that Bob desperately wanted: a power wheelchair and a new bed. That was back in August.
Finally, we got the wheelchair in January.
And Wednesday, the new bed arrived. Can you believe it has taken this long??
You might remember Bob's old bed, which was the rather creepy, "standard Medicare bed". It was semi-electric, meaning that only the head and foot could be lowered or raised electrically. Otherwise, you had to get on your hands and knees to use a hand crank, sort of like the crank of a Model T Ford, to raise and lower the bed. I tell you, that is a pain in the you-know-what for any caregiver... And it's really sad to see the inferior quality of the types of medical equipment that Medicare "allows"...
Also, Bob was truly uncomfortable. I remember when he first got home from the hospital and kept telling me that his bed was "dippings" meaning sinking in the middle. I remember him begging me to "fix it!" and how very helpless I felt when I couldn't "fix it" for him.... (the service tech told me to put plywood over the springs! Which I did, but that still didn't "fix it".)
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| Bob in the old bed, pillows held up by the slide board... |
With the old bed, I had to jam the slide board between the mattress and springs to hold up his pillows because the plastic headboard wasn't tall enough. And he was always wanting to be "boosted" over the top because the bed did not accommodate his 6'3" frame.
So, it only took 4 years and 3 months, but I finally was able to "fix it"!!!!
And it gives me great pleasure to document the demise of the old bed (off to be donated to the local hospice organization) and the delivery of his new, fully electric bed with not just two different positions, but a total of seven positions (with variations of each of those). And it is "caregiver friendly" in that it can be raised or lowered to my level with the touch of a button. It also features a trendelenburg position and reverse trendelenburg, for adjusting his position in bed. And the bed is "extra tall" (80 inches long) to accommodate his frame.
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| Goodbye Old Bed! As Bob looks on. |
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| This may look (and feel) like an arcane torture device, but it is, in fact, the "standard Medicare-approved hospital bed for in-home use" (no exceptions made).... |
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| Hello New Bed! No "dippings" with this thing! |
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| It has 3 joints for positioning (instead of 2) and is topped with a super thick foam mattress. |
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| Headboard and footboard of real wood! And an attendant control on the footboard. Wow. |
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| And one Happy Bob! |
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| And on a side note, remember how crowded we were in the old house ??? With Bob nearly blocking the front door and no where to sit for company??? |
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| Bob's new "bedroom" has room for all the things he loves, plus medical equipment and cabinets for supplies and plenty of room to maneuver for transfers, etc. ... |
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| AND seating area for guests (our old living set is out of storage and back in use again!) |
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