Friday, December 18, 2009

Space Age Bed

Yesterday afternoon, I met Skip at the Wound Care Center for a visit with her surgeon (she was transferred via ambulance from rehab). The surgeon looked at the wound, did a little cleanup, and declared that it looked really good. She doesn't have to see him again for two weeks (New Years Eve day).

When I met her back at her room at the rehab hospital, a new bed had arrived. It's called a Clinitron Rite-Hite (more info here. I tried to find a picture that I could post, but I couldn't pull one from the brochure at the site my link will take you to.) The top half of the bed, where your back will rest, is fairly conventional looking. From the small of the back down, it's a whole new animal. A permieter of inflated air gives the bed shape. Inside that wall of air is a sack of sealed silicone beads that continuously move around, creating a support surface that's like liquid. The marketing stuff calls it "fluidized air."

There's no need to turn someone lying in a bed like this. The movement of the silicone beads handles everything so pressure is offloaded continuously. It was very cool to watch the bed at work, with Skip and the bed's surface moving a tiny bit all the time.

There might be one issue with this bed. Apparently, it's heated to about 82 degrees Fahrenheit, so it doesn't always work out for individuals with MS, who can really feel the effects of heat. Skip did not mention any feelings of discomfort from overheating during the 2 hours I was with her yesterday evening (imagine Cranky with fingers crossed).

This bed sounds like a wonder. The brochure I read about it states that outcomes are much better on this kind of bed than an air bed. For a particular wound size, the healing time in an air bed was 70 WEEKS. On the Clinitron, it was 15 WEEKS, and improvement of over four times.

Rental cost is $85 per day. This is not the bed that's been ordered for us as a rental for when Skip comes home. If she tolerates the warmth of it and it seems to be working out, I'm going to see if we can change to this bed for home. The Hill-Rom website shows a home version.

3 comments:

upstater said...

Sounds like an awesome bed! I hope they put a bow on it for Skip's birthday.

Diane J Standiford said...

I admire your determination. Love transcends.

Cranky said...

upstater - the bed is still working (heat-wise), so I'm cautiously optimistic it'll speed the healing and not cause weakness.

Diane - thanks. I don't feel determined, but I guess that's what it is when you just keep moving forward, trying for the best outcome.