Michael had 56 caregivers in one week to clean and help him get in and out of bed
Now I control my own life
Married to Belinda and the father of 2 children, Michael wishes to live a life as close to normal as possible. Being able to get out of bed is a big part of that life.
Michael Salling suffers from multiple sclerosis. The disease causes his muscles and tendons – especially in the hip – to lock, making it impossible for him to twist his body and therefore to get in and out of bed.
Not long ago, the scene was as follows when Michael was getting out or into his bed:
1 caregiver stood next to Michael’s bed, trying to twist him and pull his leg over the edge of the bed. A second caregiver stood behind the bed, ready to grab Michael in case he fell backwards. On days where he felt worse than normal, Michael was completely unable to help, and his wife therefore had to crawl onto the bed and push him, acting as a third caregiver. This scene took place four times a day: morning, evening, and before and after midnight.
– In a single week, we had 56 different caregivers inside and outside the house. In the middle of the Corona era, where we had to keep our distance and disinfect afterwards. Even though they were all super friendly, it was a huge burden, says Michael’s wife, Belinda.
She recently stumbled upon a video with a RotoBed®, and it set her mind in motion. A bed with rotation could do exactly what Michael himself could not: bring him to a sitting position and rotate towards the room. Could he get such a grant from the health care system?
An instant succes
Michael’s occupational therapist was positive, and it was agreed that Michael would get a RotoBed® on trial for 3 weeks to test whether it could help him. It quickly turned out that it could.
– It just worked instantly. I could get out of bed and into it again without any problems, even on the days when I was feeling bad. It’s a success worth a gold medal, Michael notes.
Less than two days after Michael received his RotoBed®, he himself, called the municipality with a clear message:
– You do not have to send caregivers to come and help me out of bed anymore. This bed solves everything.
Michael Salling has been around a lot during his life. He worked in Greenland as a strategic purchaser for the U.S. Air Force / Greenland Contractors, since at Lego and most recently as foreman at Billund Airport. He still works a few hours a week, he likes to live an active life and is happy that he is no longer bound to wait for the municipality’s caregivers to arrive.
– If I want to get up at 6, I get up. If I want to snooze until 9 o’clock, I do that. I do not have to go to bed 20 minutes before a good movie is over because the caregivers have arrived. That means I decide over my own life, and that just makes a huge difference, he says.
Ready to reach a new goal
Now that Michael can get out of bed by himself, he has set a new goal. Half a year ago was able to walk with the help of a walker. However, a violent reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine sent him to the hospital and severely aggravated his condition, so that he has since had to use the wheelchair. He is sure that his new rotating bed can help him in the direction of being able to walk again.
– Earlier on, when I finally managed to get out of bed after struggling for a long time, I was drenched in sweat and completely drained of energy. Now, since it is so easy to get up, I can save my energy for training. I want to be able to walk again.
Can a RotoBed® help people with MS to get out of bed?
Many of our users suffer from MS. The symptoms of this condition include muscle weakness, fatigue and walking difficulties. These symptoms make it harder to control the body movements. Therefore, to get in and out of bed becomes a strenuous, unmanageable and often painful task.
The first problem occurs when the user is lying in bed and wants to get up. This everyday event seems insignificant to most people, but requires cooperation between many of the body’s muscles. The abdominal muscles must be activated, the body must be twisted, and the legs must be lifted and then turned towards the room. For a person with muscle weakness and muscle fatigue, this proces can be very difficult.
A RotoBed® will do all the hard work for you. Simulating the body’s natural movement, it will gently take you to a sitting position before rotation you towards the room. A RotoBed® can either lead you to get out of bed in a perpendicular exit angle or an oblique exit angle to facilitate transfer to a walker or a wheelchair. The entire rotation takes less than one minute.
The last challenge for many users will be to get to standing position, which without help requires relatively great muscle power. Strained knees or hips will aggravate the problem. With a RotoBed® with height adjustment, the movement is significantly facilitated.
