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Michael, I donut know if this is a solution which would work for you or not. When one of my daughter's was small, she fell out of bed on a regular basis. I bought a side rail that just slipped under the mattress (between the box spring and mattress). It was relatively easy to remove and it was non-pemanent. Granted, I was dealing with a small child whose problem was rolling over in her sleep; the side rail provided enough of a signal that she was at the edge to make her turn the other way. It's worth a try -- or at least a thought. Is Barbara's sleep problems temporary, possibly due to some medication from her surgery or her pd meds? You might want to discuss this with Barbara's doctor. I have been known to have periods where I would wake up everyone in the house screaming with nightmares, sometimes several times a night. My doctor (shrink not neuro) gave me ativan for anxiety. i am happy to report that today if someone's sleep is disturbed. rarely am I the cause. And I no longer begin each day asking my husband if I behaved myself the previous night. A brief word on the independence issue. As a pwp who is watching her independence diminish quite rapidly, I fight for every particle of independence. My family frequently does not understand why an accommodation which to them (and the rest of the mobile world) seems PERFECTLY reasonable, sets my blood boiling. Sometimes I am able to convince them of the errors of their ways; sometimes I just need more time to adjust to the latest level of dependency; sometimes we battle it out until one of the other two solutions rears it head. I won't "go gently into that goodnight" of dependency. The independence issue is one so personal that it is very difficult for any one else to understand the nuances of these accommodations. My husband of 27 years has difficulty with this one and he knows what makes me tick better than anyone, Good Luck, Cathy (50, 48, 46) Michel Margosis wrote: > Barbara is back after C-spine surgery and is now wearing a neck brace to > allow better healing. The problem arises at night when she sleeps; she > kicks and screams akin to a tantrum, but she rotates about 90 degrees > and slips out of bed. We talked about and decided that a bed rail > might solve the problem, so we ordered one reasonably priced from > Penny's catalogue in the internet, and it was very easy to install. It > basically is a rail that is affixed onto a spring lock and slips under > the mattress to hold it in place, but it does not slide down like in a > crib. > > When Barb needs to get up in the middle of the night, she is often even > too weak to push the quilt off, ergo she rings a bell that she found, > but mostly calls out for help. I'd open one and then two eyes, release > the spring on each side of the rail, and remove it, and assist with > walking to the bath room, and remake the bed while waiting. I'd take > her back, replace the covers, and reposition the rail with the button > spring lock. That seems to work, even though my sleep is broken more > than once every night. > > Barb calls that arrangement a decrease in the quality of life, and is > not content with that. I mentioned less desirable alternatives like a > hospital bed with rails that can go up and down, and that along with a > new $1K mattress is not appealing. Nor is the idea of a night > attendant, nurse assistant, aide, or whatever, though we do now have a > companion two days a week, and an irreplaceable daughter who's making up > for her difficult teen years. Are there other viable solutions? > Michel Margosis > 'Carpe Diem'