Bed arrest

Yesterday my hospital bed arrived. My dear friend Jacqueline has taken over the responsibility for my care after I get back from the hospital. She has drilled the nurses and taken care of every possible event that might occur in the future.

When the bed arrived, she diligently cleaned it (and the rest of the house) and made it up to look nice and cozy. I took one glance at it and avoided it for the next 24 hours. Kiara had a ball though...the bed had become her personal roller-coaster in no time at all and she even attempted to sleep in it at night.

Precisely one day ahead I thought it was about time to try it out, though the height seemed a little bit dodgey for an invalid like myself. I mean nobody else has a broken back and cancer in the pelvis at the same time and I have noticed that I am quite a novelty in the hospital.

So, I got into the bed fine. It seemed a little soft and narrow...but it was more comfortable than I had anticipated. Kiara joined me and we hugged a bit. Anti decubitis (pressure sores) matrasses are comfortable.

When I wanted to get up I reallized I was stuck in the bed and had no means of maneuvering myself out of it. Kiara and I were at home alone so I tried not to panic. I asked Kiara for the phone and called Jacqueline whom at first did not know what I was talking about. I mean, this is an electric elevatable bed...it is the last thing anyone would expect to happen.

As I lay there on my stomach panicking, the doorbell rang. Kiara identified the man as the bed man (who I had an appointment with to fix the bottom end). I had to tell him to wait as I could not risk him shifting my hips in an attempt to help me. The danger being that one wrong move could cut my spinal cord and paralyze me. He waited patiently, as Kiara explained how she knew who he was. He had the same logo on his shirt as the logo on the bed. How clever can a 7 year old be?!

Jacqueline arrived about 15 minutes after I had called her. All this time I lay on my stomach unable to move. I feared that my spine might curve too much and cause injury. For those of you who do not know the situation, one of my vertebraes was broken and has collapsed.

Jacqueline an excellent listener was able to maneuver me off the bed. We had sent Kiara upstairs as not to upset her. When I stood, I cried. Kiara was also upset because she got even more scared waiting upstairs.

This is stress which I cannot handle. The next two hours or so remained pretty dismal. The anxiety was tremendous...and to see Kiara hurt this much was even worse.

Bye bye hospital bed....a replacement will be made tomorrow with an adjusted (the lowest height must be lowered) bed. Once again, I am not your standard kinda gal.