A Bedtime Story....

It was a dark and lonely night. Paul was tired, confused and cranky. Despite the fact Monica had a nice bed waiting for her, he wanted her to stay in the room with him. So Monica agreed. Now fortunately mdacc has Murphy beds in each room for caregivers who stay the night. The nurse was informed and sheets and blanket were brought to Monica.

The Murphy bed was housed in a handsome, burled-wood veneer cabinent, showing little signs of wear and probably the product of a recent remodel.





The bed pulled down with a creak and a sharp crack rang out when the bed hit the floor. Monica screamed at the sight of a white naugahyde headboard.





Calming, she saw the mattress was black and covered in crinkly, plasticized fabric. A mottled brown, web, strap held the mattress to the bed platform. Looking at the strap, Monica guessed the bed itself was over 30 years old.






Telling herself, "it's ok, they must sanitize the mattress," Monica began to make the bed.

Paul turned out the lights and Monica laid down. The thin, single mattress creaked and whined. As Monica lay there she felt the springs pop up against her back, legs and head. With her hand she traced the outline of several springs, clearly felt through the thin mattress padding.

Trying to block out the fact the mattress was old and had a musty smell was difficult. Monica willed herself to fall asleep quickly. But since she was tired Monica fell asleep in little time.

All seemed well until suddenly, in the early morning, Monica awoke with a start, wheezing and short of breath. As she suspected while making the bed the night before the mattress was old and dusty, causing the unusual asthma attack. Fortunately, Monica had her inhaler nearby and within a few minutes the quick puff made the attack recede. Monica was able to go back to sleep for a short time until the morning busyness of the hospital forced her from bed. Monica pushed the bed back up into the cabinent, grateful the long night was over.

Fini

I hope you enjoyed the story. This is actually an amalgum of several nights I have spent in Paul's room at mdacc. The hospital is normally so supportive of caregivers and the rooms have obviously been remodeled in recent years; I find it odd the bed and especially the mattresses are so old. They clearly date to the late 70s or early 80s. I did find a flier in the family lounge asking caregivers to evaluate bed options for the new rooms created by the Alkek tower expansion. No mention of retro-fitting the current 450 rooms. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful the hospital has the beds and they make it very easy for family and/or caregivers to stay with the patients, but I get a little jealous when I see Paul in the comfiest hospital bed ever! It's a self-adjusting, pressure-relieving air chamber mattress. But I'll get by with my special delivery, Hurricane Ike surplus eggcrate on top :-)