First shampoo in 2 weeks

26 October 2011 Wednesday, Day 14  

I like the configuration of the bed and accessories in the Launceston General Hospital. They have a monkey bar over the bed which I could use to lift myself up and get out of bed, another step to independence.  

There are two bed control panels.  One is fixed to one side of the bed but difficult for me to reach as I was one-handed and was lying flat all the time.  The other control is attached to a coiled cord.  I could pull it to my front and operate from there.  This made life a lot easier. In Hobart, they only have the fixed panel and I had to call a nurse to press the control for me.

The nurse on duty today was an angel. She asked a colleague to move me up towards the head board so that my bum was resting at where the head panel and the end panel meet. Once the head of the bed was raised, I was almost in an upright position and could get out of bed myself.

“I hope I am not asking for too much.  I have not had a shampoo for two weeks and I really would like one.  However the brace must stay dry which will make shampooing almost impossible.  If this is too much work, please don’t bother,”  I said.

She had a clever idea.  She got me a shampoo cap.  It is like a shower cap with a moistened lining inside soaked with shampoo. You only need to microwave it to make it warm and then chuck all hair into the cap, massage the cap and toss it away. It is then all done, no rinsing required. She was also very kind to comb my hair.  My hair was full of knots and heaps of hair fell off as I had not combed or shampooed my hair for two weeks, not to mention the many blood clots on the scalp. The white comb turned red afterwards.

My sister in England called.  She tried calling a number of times and this was the first time she got through. She was very concerned but was relieved to hear my voice and that I responded like the usual me.  I told her to tell her boy to learn from my accident that it could save life to buckle up. He ignored his mom and did not wear seat belt when he was small until they were caught by a police and got a hefty fine.

The physiotherapist came and got me a walking frame. Hurray!