Pressure Sores

This post is going to stray away from the kids and actually talk about something my husband is dealing with as a quadriplegic and that is pressure sores. Quads aren't the only ones who get pressure sores. Anyone can get them. Those who are more prone to get them are the elderly, those who are obese, and the bedridden.

Let me just say I am not a nurse or CNA or anything like that. I'm trained by my husband to meet his needs.

Borrowing from medterms.com- A pressure sore is a sore area of skin that develops when the blood supply to it is cut off for more than two to three hours due to pressure on it and lack of movement. As the skin dies, the pressure sore first appears as a red painful area, which in time turns purple. Left untreated, the skin can break open and become infected. A pressure sore can become deep (ulcerate) and extend into the underlying muscle. Once a bed sore develops, it is often very slow to heal. For more info, click here.


I'll just take this moment to explain how deadly pressure sores can be. Once they get going, they tend to tunnel and kill the tissue inside, with any little pressure it tears the skin or tissue open and keeps it from healing. They get infected easily because they are an open wound and if they don't have proper drainage that stuff collects inside and becomes a serious infection. Sometimes it will tunnel to the bone. Pressure sores can also lead to sepsis, which is when the infection gets into the bloodstream and the person can die. This is what Christopher Reeve died from.


I almost lost Hubs to a bad UTI that went septic while we were waiting three months for his urologist appointment when we first moved here. It was awful. At any rate, one might ask "well why don't they change position before this happens?" and the answer is because they can't feel it or they can't move themselves and have no help.

My husband has no feeling from the shoulders down. He gets something called autonomic dysreflexia(AD). He starts sweating, he gets red blotches on his chest and his blood pressure shoots way high. AD is not good, it can cause a stroke. AD can be caused by a crease in his pants. His body can't tell the difference between that crease in his pants and something serious so his body goes into hyperprotective mode and stays there until whatever is causing it is found and fixed. Not every quad has this and the levels of body response vary.

Hubs has never gotten a pressure sore on my watch, however he had scars from pressure sores (big mean bad pressure sores) from his past when I met him. Last summer, he was being fitted for a new seating system. This was a disaster. The man who came out to our house was trying to save the state a few bucks and ended up screwing Hubs over because the cushion he replaced his old one with reopened two of his pressure sores from the past on opposite sides of his bottom. Once those pressure sores are formed the skin is always compromised and it is easy for them to reopen.

The new seating system also started a sore on his arm. I'm happy to report the sore on his arm is almost gone. But the two sores on his bottom are still there. I think they would have healed mostly by now if we didn't have other issues interferring with their healing process but that is another story.

Another quad was asking about pressure sore prevention and care and I thought it might be good to share some excellent videos I found on youtube. I also didn't think it would hurt to share some info that most people wouldn't really have occasion to know about.

Here is the link to the first part of the video on youtube, there are 4 parts. If you are looking for something to give you a general overview and have dealt with pressure sores but don't know the semantics of it, this is a good video- Pressure Ulcers

For now, Hubs is staying off his butt as much as possible. He hates being stuck in bed, but what can he do? We clean out his wounds twice a day. The one that is tunneling has stopped at 3.5 cm and we pack it with this product called mesalt which is sort of like a tightwoven gauze with chemicals in it that are supposed to promote healing.

Hubs health is stressful on both of us. I think for Hubs the reasons are obvious. In my case, it's probably obvious too, he's my husband. Everyday, I can see him deteriorate. I know we are all dying every single second from the minute we are alive but I can see what would take others years to occur happening with him quicker and it scares me.

The other stressful issue is his family. I liked his family when we met. I thought I was going to get the family I never had. They all used to meet up at Hubs house for dinner and they would go places together.

As I spent more time with Hubs, I saw that everywhere he went he was basically a doormat, he would let people get away with a lot of things and I encouraged him to speak up for himself and I supported him and stood with him. Unfortunately, he had some standing up to do with his family. I was going to step out of that but he wanted my support so I silently stood by him and ended up being blamed by his family for his sudden change.

After that I saw through my rose colored glasses of a new family and realized Hubs needed to do what he was doing and it was a long time coming. I guess I gave him what he needed. He had depended on them for so long and had no other choice but to not rock the boat. Now that he had someone else to lean on...well...he went for it. lol

Even though his family was awful to me in the end, I still feel a strong sense of responsibility to them for Hubs health and care.

I know it is Hubs decision to keep them at the distance that he does. I know he has given them chances to reach out to him because of the guilt trip they tried to lay on him and I know that they haven't tried very hard and that hurts him. It confuses me because on one hand, I understand how he feels about them not contacting him via e-mail after their whole "we aren't ever going to see you again..." deal...but on the other hand I'm like Uh...you wanted them at a distance so how are they supposed to know anything different? LOL! I just try to stay out of it, yet still support Hubs decisions because he has his reasons.

But it still scares me because when Hubs does pass, I know they are going to blame me and I just don't think I am strong enough for that...