I still have one working hoist in my bedroom which is a huge mercy. These hoists come with a variety of slings that support the users. I have grey slings that really work well for me but after they are swapped (I have two) every so often I end up in some comical positions. Yesterday was the same, sometimes this gives me pain but I persevere until sleeping time when I can comfortably rest in my bed. The next day I get my mom to alter the sling and it brings amazing relief! Positioning is one of the biggest issues with DMD once full time wheelchair use is established. Carers willing to help you get comfortable are vital.
Extract
...Two of the carers helped put my hoist sling on. They would lean me forward and shove the fabric sling down my back. Next my legs would be individually raised and the corresponding ‘leg’ parts pushed under. The hoist would be rolled over and the sling straps hooked on to the metal crossbar dangling above my head...
Read more about my sling adventures in my book DMD Life art & me!
Available on Amazon USA here; http://www.amazon.com/DMD-Life-Art-Ian-Griffiths/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288120811&sr=8-1
Available on Amazon UK here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/DMD-LIFE-ART-AND-ME/dp/1907652337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288105302&sr=8-1
All links available in my website here; http://duchennemen.net16.net/Buy-my-books/
EBOOK available here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69702
My new Ebook Poetic Diversions available to buy here; https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206857
Foreword
I’m Ian Griffiths from South Wales. This book is a story of my life so far up to the age of twenty five years. I live with and suffer from the ill effects of DMD which stands for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a severe muscle wasting disease and a life limiting terminal illness. It won’t kill you in six months in the traditional sense of ‘terminal’, but it’s far crueller than that, it steals every muscle in your body first and then kills you, anywhere up to the age of thirty. There have been cases of men living past that into their forties and fifties but only with drastic interventions such as ventilators and tracheotomies, more on this can be found by reading on.
I hope to cover a few things in this book, from a history of my childhood years to a more detailed history from sixteen years onwards and finally onto my current problems and triumphs. At times things I write may make you smile or may make you pause and think about the seriousness of life with this devastating disease. I really hope there will be a cure but currently for us supposedly ‘older’ guys with DMD (over twenty one), there seems very little hope. If I don’t see a cure in my lifetime, I hope my campaigning helps in some way bring it about for future generations, so another child won’t have to see their body wither and die before their time.
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