My sister suffered from several brain aneurysms around Xmas and spent most of January in induced coma while treated for a pneumonia she developped while at the clinic. When she recovered from that and the meds were reduced to let her wake up on her own to assess the damage she spent an extra week unconscious.
One of her brain hemispheres is a mess, do not have info on the other. We were told she suffered from hemiplegia but there's not much response anywhere. If any.
Now she lies on her bed, the lights are on but there's nobody home.
Iwas told she was not supposed to live over the past weekend but now she looks ok all things considered. Does not look like having a failing heslth at all. She appears even to be lucid, just not taking part to what is going on around her. Present, with a fixed but not vacant stare.

Enough background story.

I'm wondering what can be done to make her comfortable knowing she is completely unable to move at this point. Have seen those bulky massage chairs that look like something out of a sci-fi space capsule and wonder if they are useful for keeping the blood flowing properly. Thinking in hidraulics terms. Don't expect much if anything in terms of exercise but maybe some postural benefits and comfort.

Anybody here can offer me a clue? Have none at this point.
These chairs are expensive and huge and I thought they might be useful in her condition. I'm quite aware they're not built for that purpose. The price makes them extremely rare so basicaly there's no one to provide an educated opinion on the subject.

Thank you very much.

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My best friend's parents are fairly well off. They have an expensive full body massage chair, and it is pretty wonderful. One night however, I passed out in that chair. I woke up in some of the worst pain I've ever been in. Once you turn it off, all the little massagers in the chair become pressure points that dig into your muscles. When I woke up I could barely walk, and I was sore for the rest of the day. I would not want to sit in or be stuck in one for any length of time.

Outstanding input! Wouldn't have thought the cons could be that relevant.


PS/Side note: Prefect and Dent?

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Don't get me wrong, the chair was absolutely amazing when you had it on. It was incredibly relaxing. For someone with limited mobility that can't get out of it however, it probably wouldn't be ideal. It wouldn't surprise me if there are some out there designed for sleeping in, but I also bet the cost on something like that is through the roof.

Yes, Prefect and Dent. Those books are my all time favorites. I'm glad you said something about them, I haven't thought about them in a while and now I'm going to have to go back and reread them.

My sister had a brain aneurysm back in Aug. & spent quite a while in the brain trauma ICU. She had pretty good movement of her body, but she kept getting panicked & trying to escape so they kept her tied down & heavily sedated so she wouldn't hurt herself. That being said, they had special wraps they'd move to different parts of her body that would fill with different pressure at certain times specifically to keep blood flowing, to help prevent further issues & to help keep her more comfy.

Mobility-wise my sister has made a full recovery. The Doctors are surprised. She went to the best hospital for surgery because of how bad she was. The Surgeon said he's only seen 3 other cases as bad as hers. The 1 died right away & the other 2 are in assisted, long-term care facilities. Only part that has been affected with my sister is that she lost 75% of her vision. So she can't legally drive, but she walks around just fine & she can see well enough to text & write, etc. says she feels drunk a lot cos of her vision & she gets headaches if she tries to watch tv. She is only 48. I hope things take a turn for the better for your sister.

Thank you again for sharing your experience. As much as I would like to help my sister in any way within my means, I am not qualified and the board is great help covering other angles.
Since currently she's not even capable to talk, a chair that becomes a modernized iron maiden over the hours is not a solution but an additional problem.

OT: I discovered and read HHG2TG back in the late 80's. Still brings a smile to my face every now and then. Was browsing the space launch thread and the video made me chuckle.


MagicHorse: my sister is being moved to another clinic that specializes on reeducation. Without other specifics, I guess the life threatening situation is over and she is on the path of recovery. AFAIK, the lights are on but nobody home best describes her status.
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I believe all electronic patient devices have to be checked over and given the OK by the facility. You may want to check with them first as they might not be willing to be responsible if something happens to her in a non medically approved chair.

0-0, very sorry to hear about your sister and the issue affecting her.