The Flip Side-Sleeping

Both young men and maidens; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. Psalm 148:12-13

Well, I had been my dad's caregiver for four years. One of the years was in my home. The rest of the time has been overseeing his care. He was in a nice local group home for a year and the remaining years I have overseen his care as we visit Dad weekly in a nice Veteran's Home, due to his Parkinson's Disease and frequent bouts of pneumonia. Now, I was the one who was the caregivee, because I had broken my heel and was told not to walk on it for three months. 

 The Orthopedist Doctor told me to keep my casted leg above my heart. I think that was to reduce the potential of getting blood clots.  I tried to prop my leg up on pillows in my bed, but the weight of the cast would smash down and/or move the pillows, so they were no longer above my heart or were no longer comfortable.

 After many frustrating nights with little sleep, I started spending the vast majority of my days and nights in a reclining chair. At night, I would push it all the way back and try to layer pillows to prop my casted foot on. Unfortunately, the weight of the cast would generally squash down the pillows and the heel of my cast would lean on the leg rest or something else that would make my heel ache by the time I realized it.

 I spent many nights at 2:30 a.m. searching YouTube videos for tips on how they were able to sleep with a cast. I tried some of the ideas. The funny thing is, I might find something that would work for a night or two. I'd get so excited, because I thought that was the end of my sleepless nights, but it seemed that particular pillow arrangement would no longer work. I don't know if the pillows were too squished down by that point to be able to cushion my casted foot.

 I wish I had the magic answer, but I mainly just prayed my way through. Somethings worked for awhile, but not consistently. I think it depends on what part of your foot that you've broken. The significant point is prayers, so that our lack of sleep doesn't affect our moods when we interact with our caregivers and loved ones!
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: Healthy Aging with Nutrition
By: Alliance for Aging Research via You Tube

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