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There's a sound I hate to hear. Its my husband doing that little dance that
means he has tried to turn suddenly and is about to fall. Sometimes he can
grab something to support himself if he dances fast enough and there is a
handy support close to him. He is getting better at remembering not to turn
suddenly!

He has developed his own technique for dropping to the floor when his legs
will not hold him upright. Usually he has his sturdy U-Step walker with him
and is able to use it to support himself while dropping to one knee,
followed by the other, then easing the drop with the other hand on the
floor. Since he has most of this problem of needing to crawl during the
night (those pesky frequent trips to the bathroom,) he keeps one of those
portable foam rubber pads, used by gardeners to ease their knees, handy next
to the bed. He drops down onto that to avoid hurting his knees. I've
suggested he hang one onto his walker so it will be handy during the day.

After the first time he fell out of bed in the night and saw stars, we
constructed a bed frame out of PVC pipe. This gives him support when getting
up, as well as preventing him from falling out of bed in his sleep. Its also
handy for hanging his pager button where it is handy at night, and would be
used to hang the collection bag for a condom catheter when we finally need
to go that route.

Martha Rohrer CG for Neal (78/13)
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