(16/08/2015) The 8th day after my accident I’m talking to doctors about being discharged and how long they expect me to be admitted. Another 2 days pass with me increasing distance around the ward and finally being able to go to the toilet (not by myself.. yet) On day 10 we are presented with our discharge papers, specialists to see over the following weeks..etc…We are also given a booklet “Living with a HALO Brace” my wife opens it and finds “being intimate with a HALO Brace” OMG.. I can’t even remember the last time I had an erection… shit maybe that doesn’t work either? (Update on that…all ok) After a good giggle I’m feeling good enough to get out, leave Hospital and head home.
It’s now just coming into spring – Sydney in Spring-time is simply gorgeous. I know I need to get out into some fresh Sydney air and get some good home cooked meals into me.
We leave hospital by walking out the front door. Another mile stone!
“CAR TRIP TORTURE”
Our family car is a new Toyota Kluger which rides on air (so I thought) As we pull out of the Hospital and hit the first bump in the road I realise this isn’t going to be that easy. The HALO Brace is sitting on my collar bone, as the car rides over bumps this put pressure on it and my neck muscles fight the brace. The head is telling the neck how to respond and the brace is not allowing anything to move. Result, by the time I’m in the driveway at home some 15 minutes later my neck and scalp are cramped up and locked solid. My shoulder is also killing me, I’m in pain and put myself to bed – Ahhh. my own bed… ‘Hang on’ this is all new again – What pillows do I need to get comfy? How do I get out of bed? Shit….how do I get into bed? This isn’t going to be quite as simple as I first thought. Feeling depressed! Do I need drugs?? No!
Now I’m well off the drugs (the hard hospital ones) I’m finding the nights are long. With a drugged mind the days just merged, now I’m thinking, uncomfortable and starting to get depressed. Trying to lay down with 4 screws attached and screwed into your scalp isn’t helping either. We find (pillow master suggestion) stuffing a soft pillow between the back of my brace offers my head some psychological comfort. Rolling over is impossible (in the first 1-4 weeks for me) and my shoulder…oh my shoulder is killing me. Need to lay still. “What drugs did the hospital give us...? No...
As the days move on I figured out systems that work to get comfy. For example to get into bed I would find a spot on the wardrobe, this is where I would turn and face before sitting and rotating onto the mattress. I really had one chance to lower myself down by grabbing under my knees and falling backwards. Getting out of bed is a little less graceful - Legs over the side and side to the ground, get onto my knees...I’m sure you get the idea. All the while thinking about the broken bone and trying not to damage it.
“CRAMPING UP”
Being an active guy who kept in shape I’m pretty subtle, or at least I was before entering hospital. My hamstrings are so tight I struggle to sit in the bath with my legs down. At night I get my wife to exercise and stretch out my legs whilst I lay in bed. This helps and after about a week I’m seem to regain full movement. The physio cream is still getting a workout every day on my shoulders and head. This seems to help unlock them. I can also feel a huge knot on my shoulder blade... Gosh I long for this brace to come off.
“BATH TIME”
Most people have never seen a HALO Brace. I hope this stays the case for you. What you need to understand is this device is a part of me for the next 12 weeks. It can’t be removed like a hat, it RUNS all the way down my back and stomach to just above belly button height and is SCREWED to my skull. Add to this it’s lined with your best NZ sheep skin and you can only imagine how you feel in it after a few days. I have to say it’s not smelly (no one has said so anyhow) I find my skin so oily and itchy which causes the discomfort. We (pillow master and I) have found baby wipes everyday under the brace help with this. Again this was not in the HALO BOOK OF GREAT WISDOME! The book that told us how to have sex… where the section on how to wash afterwards??
So, how do you do it…. Wash that is, I find sitting in a shallow bath the best followed by baby wipes afterwards. Shaving is a little awkward as you can’t stretch your skin either. Under arm washing for me with the relocated shoulder was super painful and difficult. Again you need a good helper/carer. In my case my amazing wife... What a babe!
One thing I can say is how good you fell after a good wash. Even on my low days. Wash time = smiles!!
By now I have named my wife “the pillow master” even in hospital I would get her to adjust the pillows to get me comfortable. I looked forward to her arriving in the mornings and this was always the first thing we did. Home was no different and not once did ‘my lovely’ complain as I woke her because I needed to move. You must surround yourself with a great support person!
I’ve now also developed a super sore tail bone (Coccyx) I really have only 2 positions lying flat on my back which for the first week home is about all I can muster or sitting upright which is hard when you’re running on no sleep - My shoulder is killing me. Convinced my collar bone is broken, I head for more x-rays… outcome, all fine. Shit… I need pain relief. Back to bed, at least I can at least get comfy and my shoulder doesn’t seem to hurt laying down. Depressed!
Top Picture - Up and about finally.
Here is a picture of what I have to live with for the next 12 weeks. Whilst this unit is slightly different to mine it will give you a good understanding of how it works.
It’s now just coming into spring – Sydney in Spring-time is simply gorgeous. I know I need to get out into some fresh Sydney air and get some good home cooked meals into me.
We leave hospital by walking out the front door. Another mile stone!
“CAR TRIP TORTURE”
Our family car is a new Toyota Kluger which rides on air (so I thought) As we pull out of the Hospital and hit the first bump in the road I realise this isn’t going to be that easy. The HALO Brace is sitting on my collar bone, as the car rides over bumps this put pressure on it and my neck muscles fight the brace. The head is telling the neck how to respond and the brace is not allowing anything to move. Result, by the time I’m in the driveway at home some 15 minutes later my neck and scalp are cramped up and locked solid. My shoulder is also killing me, I’m in pain and put myself to bed – Ahhh. my own bed… ‘Hang on’ this is all new again – What pillows do I need to get comfy? How do I get out of bed? Shit….how do I get into bed? This isn’t going to be quite as simple as I first thought. Feeling depressed! Do I need drugs?? No!
Now I’m well off the drugs (the hard hospital ones) I’m finding the nights are long. With a drugged mind the days just merged, now I’m thinking, uncomfortable and starting to get depressed. Trying to lay down with 4 screws attached and screwed into your scalp isn’t helping either. We find (pillow master suggestion) stuffing a soft pillow between the back of my brace offers my head some psychological comfort. Rolling over is impossible (in the first 1-4 weeks for me) and my shoulder…oh my shoulder is killing me. Need to lay still. “What drugs did the hospital give us...? No...
As the days move on I figured out systems that work to get comfy. For example to get into bed I would find a spot on the wardrobe, this is where I would turn and face before sitting and rotating onto the mattress. I really had one chance to lower myself down by grabbing under my knees and falling backwards. Getting out of bed is a little less graceful - Legs over the side and side to the ground, get onto my knees...I’m sure you get the idea. All the while thinking about the broken bone and trying not to damage it.
“CRAMPING UP”
Being an active guy who kept in shape I’m pretty subtle, or at least I was before entering hospital. My hamstrings are so tight I struggle to sit in the bath with my legs down. At night I get my wife to exercise and stretch out my legs whilst I lay in bed. This helps and after about a week I’m seem to regain full movement. The physio cream is still getting a workout every day on my shoulders and head. This seems to help unlock them. I can also feel a huge knot on my shoulder blade... Gosh I long for this brace to come off.
“BATH TIME”
Most people have never seen a HALO Brace. I hope this stays the case for you. What you need to understand is this device is a part of me for the next 12 weeks. It can’t be removed like a hat, it RUNS all the way down my back and stomach to just above belly button height and is SCREWED to my skull. Add to this it’s lined with your best NZ sheep skin and you can only imagine how you feel in it after a few days. I have to say it’s not smelly (no one has said so anyhow) I find my skin so oily and itchy which causes the discomfort. We (pillow master and I) have found baby wipes everyday under the brace help with this. Again this was not in the HALO BOOK OF GREAT WISDOME! The book that told us how to have sex… where the section on how to wash afterwards??
So, how do you do it…. Wash that is, I find sitting in a shallow bath the best followed by baby wipes afterwards. Shaving is a little awkward as you can’t stretch your skin either. Under arm washing for me with the relocated shoulder was super painful and difficult. Again you need a good helper/carer. In my case my amazing wife... What a babe!
One thing I can say is how good you fell after a good wash. Even on my low days. Wash time = smiles!!
By now I have named my wife “the pillow master” even in hospital I would get her to adjust the pillows to get me comfortable. I looked forward to her arriving in the mornings and this was always the first thing we did. Home was no different and not once did ‘my lovely’ complain as I woke her because I needed to move. You must surround yourself with a great support person!
I’ve now also developed a super sore tail bone (Coccyx) I really have only 2 positions lying flat on my back which for the first week home is about all I can muster or sitting upright which is hard when you’re running on no sleep - My shoulder is killing me. Convinced my collar bone is broken, I head for more x-rays… outcome, all fine. Shit… I need pain relief. Back to bed, at least I can at least get comfy and my shoulder doesn’t seem to hurt laying down. Depressed!
Top Picture - Up and about finally.
Here is a picture of what I have to live with for the next 12 weeks. Whilst this unit is slightly different to mine it will give you a good understanding of how it works.