How did you get yourselves out of bed? Literally.

[malibu82]

Hi all, Just told Colin I would ask my friends on the board for ideas of how to raise himself out of bed. In the hospital, it was easier as he would raise the head of the bed first. It seems like now, he needs me to put my hands behind his back and raise him. Ideas?

that sounds like exactly how it was with me. once i got home, i couldn't lift my head to get up....so i would just turn my body (roll) to the side i wanted to get up on, then somehow get my feet off first, then i could get up!

 

[hook]

I use a recliner after surgery.

I slept in a recliner also, no problems getting up and down. I could not do the bed for a few weeks, and then only a few hours. I always woke up in the lazyboy feeling rested.:thumbup:

 

[Marguerite53]

Glad you got the answers you needed. For me, I had a ton of pillows, even ones for under my arms (so in bed I felt like I was sitting in a real cushy chair). Our bed is very high and I am long-legged and tall (Colin appears tall) so I was just able to stand next to the bed and swing my legs onto the bed with my rump very close to the pillows and kind of wiggle into place. That way, getting out of bed was a breeze -- just swung my legs over and walked off. I slept sitting up for almost 2 months, but slept like a baby!!

Hope all continues to go well!!!

Thinking of you both!

Marguerite

 

[Shobu]

In hospital I used the "raise/lower" function on the bed. Had to have some help with pushing a few times at first. Then I migrated to using the pillow and kind of rolling on my side a little and somehow using a little momentum to sit up. At home I rented a nice huge cushy recliner and used/slept on that, and then at about 2 1/2 weeks or so, I was able to sleep in bed pretty normal, and sit up pretty easy. My surgeon did an awesome job putting me back together, so I was lucky and ended up with very little pain in my chest or incision after about 2 weeks, which helps getting up and down a lot. Another OHS pt recommended I get a recliner for post-op, and that was one of the best decisions I made.
Good luck!

--Dan

 

[Superman]

I found this, and it's pretty much what I did (see the diagram at the bottom of the document) http://applications.spectrum-health.org/education/document.aspx?url=Patient+Education%2Fx09963.pdf

Cool! That's where I had my surgery. I learned that at 18 with my first surgery. My most recent one at 36 I opted for sleeping in the recliner the first few weeks post op. Found it easier.