Seating for Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
Heartwarming Story – specialist seating for a client with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
This will not be a surprise to many Healthcare Professionals who prescribe seating in the community, working with clients on a day to day basis, but I would like to share this heart-warming story. The power of getting someone seated in the correct seat cannot be underestimated.
I know a lot about seating, posture and pressure management, and I care a lot about how our products can help clients. However, I am not a clinician and I have never seen, at first hand, the utter transformation that happened virtually from one minute to the next. A lovely lady who, only a year ago was still playing golf, now with MND, was sat in a riser/recline in a corner of their conservatory. Hunched over and slouched to one side, she was not in a happy place. The new chair was moved as close as possible to enable her husband and Helen to move her gently over to the HydroFlex. The chair was tilted back (TiS) and she requested a small amount of back angle recline so her tummy was more comfortable. And I promise, a few minutes later, a new person was sat before me with a smiling face and the hint of the lovely young women she would once have been. It brought a tear to my eye – it was very moving. Suddenly she could see what was happening in her own home, discuss the local canal system (location of our family holiday last year!) with me, make requests of people …regain control of her life, if not her body. A new person.
Our Area Manager, Les Jones, showed her husband how the tilt and back angle functions work and how to adjust the chair, when necessary.
Bearing in mind the average time a person ‘sits’ every day is about 9.5 hours – sitting is an incredibly important pastime. Appropriate seating may mean that people can get out of bed and re-join a sociable and fulfilling life with family and friends. To say nothing of cost savings to the NHS, through the prevention of pressure ulcers and other conditions caused by poor posture. (That’s a whole ‘nuther’ subject).
We wish Helen and her Team at the West Park Hospital every success for the future and hope they will share more life-changing case studies with us, as and when the HydroFlex moves to the next client, although we hope that will not be for a very long time.
If you have a loved one or client requiring specialist seating for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), please get in touch.
