Flip Side: Bed & Bathroom Plan 7

A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, And will share an inheritance among the brothers. Proverbs 17:2 NKJV

After being my dad's caregiver for one year when he came to live with us and then overseeing his caregiving for over 2 1/2 years, it seemed a little strange to suddenly be the caregivee when I broke my heel and was told I couldn't walk on it for 90 days.

 Well, the Bed & Bathroom Plan 6, in the reclining chair with the porta-potty nearby, seemed to be going fine for awhile. Then, I started having pains in the hip and knee sockets on the leg of my broken heel. Being prayerful about all of this, I pondered that having the leg of my broken foot propped up for two months probably put an unnatural strain on my hip and knee. If I could no longer sleep in the reclining chair, I prayed for Christ to give me a remedy to my newest Bed & Bathroom issue. 

I realized that the most normal position for my hip would be to lie flat. I tried to lie down in the bed, but the aircast made it very difficult. I put pillows the length of my side of the bed, but it wasn't comfortable, so I went back to the recliner.

 After another night of my hip hurting, I was determined to try again. I tried a different set of pillows and did it on a Sunday afternoon, so I had plenty of time to rearrange them if they weren't comfortable. After lots of different arrangements, one pattern of pillows seemed to work out better than the others.

 That night, I was optimistic, but had a difficult time sleeping. After praying about it off and on for most of the night, the feeling I got was that Jesus would get me through it! After that, I didn't feel as stressed about it as I had, and have been sleeping that way since. I'm not saying that every night is wonderful, but Christ does get me through the nights, some good and some less so.

 I forgot to explain that the porta-potty is few feet from my bed. That's because of the one time I raced to get go the bathroom in time, but found it difficult to breath afterward. Now, when I feel the urge, I sit on the side of the bed and push onto the nightstand with one hand and the bed with the other. Once standing, I take hold of the walker near my bed and start making short quarter turns to go toward and to back up to the porta-potty. We have a roll of toilet tissue and bottle of water next to the porta-potty, so  I can clean up afterward.

 When I'm finished, I do everything in reverse. I push up on the handles of the porta-potty to standing and grab onto the walker. I take small quarter turns toward the bed and then back up to it. When I feel the bed against the back of my legs, I put one hand back on the nightstand and the other back on the bed to ease myself to a sitting position on the bed. Sometimes I take both hands to guide the leg with the aircast into the right spot on the bed. 

 Also, I found it helpful to put a pillow next to the leg with the aircast. This idea was a real blessing from God. It allowed me to sleep more peacefully, because I didn't have to worry about my husband kicking my injured leg in his sleep. He's never done it, but has come close. Now, I don't have to worry about it.
Since these are examples of how I've applied these Bible verses to my experience, they may not reflect the whole meaning of the verse.

I'm including You Tube Video clips on caregiving that I found interesting, inspirational, or might be helpful to others, but am not responsible for the content in the videos. Always check first with a physician before trying any suggestions mentioned.

Caregiving Video: Toilet Transfer; Idea for Wheelchair User
By: Brooke Ziegler via You Tube

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