We have a very basic twin hospital bed. When first used, Darcey did NOT like it... not even a little bit. When no longer able to move legs or turn without help, Darcey began to get what we call "heel flares". Basically, where her heel touches the bed, it begins to feel as if it is on fire. She was also having terrible discomfort with the joints in her knees. So we moved back to the hospital bed so that she could (1) raise the head up a bit and (2) raise her knees up a bit. Still, she slept restlessly... having to turn every hour or two (which could only be done with my help). We mentioned our sleeping issues here (got some good advice) and to our ALS Org representative (Jeri). Jeri sent us an 8" low pressure alternating air mattress for the hospital bed... courtesy of our local ALS Loan Closet. Now Darcey sleeps through the night (8 - 10 hours) without any need to turn (or to wake me up). That one single item... the right air mattress... turned misery into heaven. We'd be hard pressed to consider anything else at this point unless something changed her ability to sleep as well as she does now. Other items used - Trilogy for breathing... turn pad for dressing in the morning... pillow case with two pillows to push her feet back while sleeping (seems to minimize heel flares)... and a lightweight electric blanket. And one more time, in case it was missed - the 8" low pressure alternating air mattress is the most important part of a good night's sleep (for us)...
Jim
