Mary Helen Barr
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2006
- Messages
- 61
I was wondering if any of you have bedsores. My father has a large one on the left side of his rear end, right where he sits. He has had it debrided by a wound doctor, and has another appointment on Wednesday. We were told to change position every two hours, and to only sit on the sore for an hour at a time, only two or three times a day max. Well, those instructions are not possible in his situation. He sits on it about 24 hours a day, or at least 20 hours a day. He can not breathe well lying in bed. Propping him up doesn't help very much. He fills with mucus, and starts to panic. Also, since he wants to be at home, there is noone to move him every two hours. I provide about 85% of his care, but I can't be running over to his apartment to move him all the time. I change his bandage every day. The sore smells horrendously. In my opinion, all that can be done is to manage it, keep changing the bandage, and try to make him comfortable. The debriding appointment makes the sore bigger, and I can't imagine what it will be like after this next appointment. When I bandage him, I immediately throw away all of the bad smelling things in the room, and spray bleach water all over the place. The smell goes away as far as visitors are concerned, but when I get him up each morning, it's there. I know the odor is always there, but he's sitting on it, so we don't notice it.
He was just signed up for hospice, and they seem to be very nice. I sometimes don't know how long I can go on. Even though they will come to see him, and bathe him, etc, I am still the one who has to go over there every morning at 4:30 so I can get to work by 7:00. So far, there is noone who can move him confidently. He feels insecure with anyone else so far, and I always have to reposition him anyway, after someone else does it. If he's not just right, he has trouble breathing, gets "mucusy", and in general, just pathetic.
Sorry to go on so long. I kind of got off track. I really wanted to know about PALS experiences with bedsores. It seems that you can't win when you have bedsores and ALS. I should mention that my dad's back is very curved, and it is absolutely impossible to straighten his airway, so that complicates things while in bed. He spends all day and night in a recliner, and he is comfortable there. It seems to me that it is not possible to heal this sore, and that it will only continue to get worse.
He was just signed up for hospice, and they seem to be very nice. I sometimes don't know how long I can go on. Even though they will come to see him, and bathe him, etc, I am still the one who has to go over there every morning at 4:30 so I can get to work by 7:00. So far, there is noone who can move him confidently. He feels insecure with anyone else so far, and I always have to reposition him anyway, after someone else does it. If he's not just right, he has trouble breathing, gets "mucusy", and in general, just pathetic.
Sorry to go on so long. I kind of got off track. I really wanted to know about PALS experiences with bedsores. It seems that you can't win when you have bedsores and ALS. I should mention that my dad's back is very curved, and it is absolutely impossible to straighten his airway, so that complicates things while in bed. He spends all day and night in a recliner, and he is comfortable there. It seems to me that it is not possible to heal this sore, and that it will only continue to get worse.