He needs a low air loss mattress that slowly rolls him side to side. The adjustments will stop him from rolling too far and it will help heal his wounds. Ideally, he should be laying face down(I'm thinking his wounds are on his back side.) When face down the bed can be adjusted to a reverse trendelemburg, or tilted with his head up. If the bed won't do that then simply stack boards under the top legs for some comfort. Be sure the bed can't roll. Nutrition is very important. Range of motion is a must since it sounds like he has never had any. He should be seen by a physiatrist. If he commonly refuses medical advice, then he is pretty much one infection from dead. There is no wheelchair suitable for a quad with a stage 4 wound on his buttocks. There are special gurneys he can use to travel. Just curious, was he neglected to this point or did he refuse therapy? He needs about 12 to 20 months of dedicated skin care by people who can prove they have done this successfully before. The average nursing home can not help him. He needs a doctor to find a place to prepare him to go to Craig Rehab Hospital so he can become a normal quad. I wish you and him the very best. john
________________________________ From: medethics Cvlrights <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sat, December 5, 2009 6:58:50 PM Subject: [QUAD-L] Stage IV wounds mattress suggestions? I was looking for a new mattress for my quad friend with stage IV wounds, unable to turn. His arms are winged into tight contractures against his chest and he cannot straighten them. It is very difficult to turn him to his side because his arms wings out and it is painful. He has been stuck in hospitals, LTAC's, nursing home in bed for two years, unable to sit in a chair due to the severity of his wounds. We are bringing him home in a few weeks (hopefully by Christmas). It may be the Clinitron bed is paid for by Medicare once he is home. We were wondering about getting him the recliner chair with an air mattress on it, and/or one of these type of mattresses for his bed. Anyone with experience or ideas on what type of mattress may be good for stage IV wound healing? http://ucanhealth.com/goto.php?page=alternating_pressure_mattress
