and this is how we do it

***  Disclaimer ***

This blog does deal with bodily functions
Sooo
You have been warned
 

     When you loose the ability to walk, you loose pretty much all voluntary functions below the level of your injury - including that of voiding your bowels and bladder.  Which is my polite way of saying, you no longer control when or even how you pee and poop and that is probably the single worst thing about paralysis.  

     Jarrad absolutely hates this.  He always apologizes when there are accidents.  He is getting resigned but it still stinks (pun intended).  

     I went to a caretakers support group (I hate the term "caretaker" and one day, I will explain why but I am not his "caretaker", I am his WIFE.  My position and vow to that position did not change when he fell so please, do NOT call me his caretaker. End rant).  The meeting itself was cathartic.  I am not alone.  And there are things that can be done to make Jarrad even more independent.  I learned a lot by what was not said too.  One lady mentioned that one night her husband got up to cath and he fell out of his chair.  It got me to thinking that the way we were doing it was not the way that others do it.  I didn't ask because well, it just seems to private.  However, it is a basic bodily function that needs to be done so just in case - I am sharing how we handle it.  It might change in the future but for now, this is it.

NOTE : This has wheels - important detail

    When you are paralyzed, urination occurs through catheterization.  Essentially, a long straw is put into the urinary tract via the penis. Too much?  Well, we all go sooo. . .  Ideally, one would do this every 6 hours.  But nothing is ever ideal.  Sometimes, the 6th hour is not a good time so it is the 4th or 5th hour but hopefully never the 7th or 8th.  That is bad!  Oh, and the straw?  It is not long enough to reach the toilet from a wheel chair BUT you can get an extension to put on the straw - we just don't know where to go for that . . . SOMEONE is supposed to ask about it but . . . it is not high on the list of stuff to find out right now.

     Anyway, it is a process that takes about 2x as long as just hopping out of bed and going.  Forget about hoping in to a chair and then wheeling to the toilet.  When we first got home, I set up a tv tray with everything and then I would get up and hand him the iodine, lube, catheter, and urinal.  It was a process and neither of us was getting  much sleep.   
      I have a cart that I put all my cleaning supplies on in the laundry room and thought that might work as a rolling "cath cart" and bedside tray.  I got the cart at Target and put in 3 of the 4 "shelves".  The basket "hides" the q-tips, iodine, sterile wipes.  There is room for Jarrad to put a glass of water and anything else he might need.  There is also space for his 7 day, 4 times a day medicine organizer.  A small trash can on the next shelf, 2 urinals and catheters are next.  At first, I just laid the catheters down horizontally but that got messy very fast.  So I stood them up - good idea as I could put more on but they tended to bend over and didn't look nice.  What to do to hold them up? Cut out the bottom of a box?  Then light bulb moment (I am proud of myself here) I had purchased some plastic canvas for the kids to "sew" with and had an epiphany - a custom made holder.  I made the holder the length of the shelf and divided it in half - one half keeps the catheters upright and the other half has a bottom for whatever we want.  In this picture, it holds powder but we have since moved a tissue box there. 
    (And I have started a love affair with plastic canvas - SOOO many possibilities!!!)
    The bottom shelf holds extra trash bags and the bottom half of the catheters.  Now, we have a bedside "commode" for Jarrad.  I roll it (or he pulls it) next to the bed at night- so he can get use it when he needs to.  Urinals are emptied in the morning and rinsed.  It is convenient and everything is right there.  This is our system for now and it might change as we get stronger but for now, it works.