I have a seriously ill lady, with many major problems. She’s been in hospitals now for several months, and has become extremely deconditioned. To get back and forth to doctors, when she’s out of the hospital, we use a medical transport system. It’s an important service, but there’s often a wait of at least an hour. KF, as I’ll call her, has no body muscle, no subcutaneous fat, and no padding at all. She has to sit in a wheelchair, waiting. Then there’s the bumpy ride, then the doctor appointments, a ride back and so forth.
This lady has so much pain in her tail-bone, it’s excruciating. She’s in tears after about 10 minutes, and can hardly bear it during one of the appointment days. It’s terrible! Then there’s wheeling to meals at the facility, PT and other sitting events. She can’t stand up, and never gets a chance to build muscles before the next medical crisis.
Why the long story? Because today, we gave this cushion a test run. KF was in the ICU for 4 days, and released for transport, scheduled at 1:30pm. They got her into the chair with the new cushion, using a power lift, at around 1:15pm. We sat for 1 hour and 10 minutes, before the transport showed up. I kept asking her, “How’s your tail-bone?” “Fine!”
The ride was about half an hour, then a bit of wait until she could be lifted out of the chair, back to bed. By the time I showed up, about 3 hours had passed and I didn’t know what I’d find. Usually, she’s in such pain she gets a Vicodin, and can hardly function for the rest of the day. Not this time!
Using this cushion, KF was about as “normal” as she’d been prior to getting into the wheelchair! Unbelievable! No tail-bone problems, no muscle cramping, no leg pain, no shoulder pain, and no arm and elbow pain, from trying to constantly adjust in the chair. Since she can’t move much, it’s very hard for her to even squirm around at the moment, but she didn’t have to!
This is a superb pillow. We’ve had it only one day, but I can’t believe how much we’re pinning our hopes on something so basic. Back at the facility, I showed it to a guy who’s lost a leg and had major cellulitis. His spine has degenerated to bone-on-bone, and he can barely sit in a wheel-chair for more than an hour. There’s nothing he can do, but he’s robust, has a solid body with a lot of padding, but has almost no spinal support whatsoever. He was astonished at how comfortable we was when we tried out the pillow.
Fingers crossed, hoping it lasts. I’ve rarely seen something that provides so much relief in such a basic way.
UPDATE: This is absolutely a lifesaver! Within 1 week of using the cushion, KF’s tailbone was mostly healed. She can now sit for the many hours in waiting rooms, PT or other problems.