I mentioned in another post that Kevin was a big
help to me. I was fretting about how to put the hospital bed in our
bedroom and was planning to take our bed down to store it. I asked Stella if
she had room in her storage closet for our bed and mattress. Kevin suggested we
put the hospital bed in our den/study where we have our computers and the
high-def TV that Stella bought Neal for his birthday.
Stella helped me draw a diagram showing where to situate
the furniture. Sunday afternoon, Kevin and his sons, John and Michael, moved
the furniture out of the den and arranged the remaining pieces to accommodate
the hospital bed. Colleen, Kevin’s wife, helped, too. She and Jeaneal
bought linens - extra long twin sheets. Colleen was there to receive the
hospital bed when it arrived Monday morning. Stella, Kevin, and I were at the
hospital waiting for the ambulance to transport Neal home.
After Neal came home, Stella and I had a baby
monitor in the den with receivers in the bedroom and living room. Kevin bought a
wireless doorbell and taped it within reach to Neal’s bedside table with the receiver
in the kitchen. Neal could ring
the doorbell when he needed or wanted anything. He was never left alone for
long, but he could ring the doorbell (“cuckoo”) whenever he needed us.
Kevin showed Stella and me how to change Neal's
linens with a minimum of turns. He suggested that we have as many layers as
possible between Neal and the air mattress. He put a draw sheet under the
fitted sheet and pulled it as tight as possible, then another draw sheet over
the fitted sheet, next a waterproof flannel pad, a chux (disposable paper pad with
waterproof liner), and finally a pillowcase next to Neal's skin. He explained
that there was no need for anything more than that.
When Neal came home from the hospital, his skin was
broken down and the possibility of a bedsore was imminent. Kevin applied a mixture
of antibiotic, vitamin D, and moisture barrier creams to the area and within
several days the skin was healed up. Neal was catheterized and Kevin taught us
how to drain the catheter bag and measure the urine. I've probably forgotten so
many other things that he taught us.
Kevin and Colleen and family were here from Christmas Eve until New
Year's Day. During that time, he and Colleen stayed several nights with Neal while
Stella and I stayed in her condo (she has a condo in our same building) for
some much needed rest.
