I'm a patient on a ventilator, with a trach, and I just need to ask some questions!

[ECMO]

Well, after contemplating what to do, I have decided to post in patient education. I AM A PATIENT. But I'm not a conventional patient. I've been in and out of hospitals all of my life. I posted my full story Friday about myself, and It got accepted yesterday morning. But to make a very long and dragged out story short, due to my life around the medical field, IN AND OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, on and off ventilators, (Now being on one 24/7), after the operations I've had, (I've lost count), I've always had the interest in the medical field! It's not just an interest. It's a life of studying, taking what online courses I could get my hands on, studying ACLS THOROUGHLY, and other more advanced studies like in ECMO, HFOV, The management of the patient in the Operating Room, who's on Cardiopulmonary Bypass, and many other courses. It's stuff I've STUDIED. And then Studied more! And then studied until I learned what I desired to learn, and then found something else to learn. 

 

   This is my life. I didn't let my conditions stop me. I have given it my everything, and  THAT is why I know what I know today. I may not work in the hospital, but I wish to study like I do to the best of my ability! That's  one reason I joined allnurses. Through the Community, I can sure get some good info.

 

   But I don't know what to do. I'm not a nurse, and I have so many questions for nurses, and other healthcare professionals. But being that I'm not a nurse, I don't know how to go about posting the questions that I have. Yesterday, I posted some questions in "General Nursing," about the Clinitron bed. I have studied the field of specialty beds for years. I've been in ICU beds many times, such as the Hill-Rom TotalCare beds, and Especially the Stryker InTouch bed.

 

   As for the Stryker InTouch bed, I have quite the story behind that special bed. That story actually got an article written about me in Stryker's monthly newsletter in April of 2021. But that's a story in itself. But there are many questions I have about beds like the Clinitron Air Fluidized bed. I asked some of these questions in "General Nursing," but when people see that I'm not a nurse, yet I know about these beds and have the types of questions that I do, It's going to seem weird to a lot of people, and chances are, that post will not get any responses. 

 

   Hill-Rom does not even deal with the Clinitron Beds anymore. They are a part of Baxter now. They didn't have the User's Manual to this bed, and the company that deals with these beds couldn't help me either. But there are things I want to know about beds like this. I know the basics, but I want to learn the technical aspects of it. Yet I don't know what I should do to get assistance to these questions without looking strange on allnurses. 

 

I MAY BE A PATIENT, but I don't think like a patient, because of my major interest in the medical field, what I've studied, and because of how I've grown up DESIRING TO LEARN THE MEDICAL FIELD, Technical aspects, Pharmacological aspects, etc.

 

   The training courses Hill-Rom had back in the earlier 200s have been removed, and these were free E-Learning courses where you practiced preparing the bed for the patient, and you went through a patient scenario doing things such as defluidization of the bed when it was necessary, adjusting the temperature, you were taught when to defluidize the bed in certain scenarios, and when you WOULD NOT defluidize the bed during those scenarios. You learned a little bit about the bed. And It wasn't just the Clinitron bed. The TotalCare beds, Progressa bed, and their other beds either had E-Learning courses, or you just watched an in depth video on the operation of the bed.

 

   But those courses are gone, and I don't remember much about the Clinitron bed's operation. I never was able to find a user's manual online for the clinitron bed, and in service videos on the Clinitron bed on YouTube? To put it shortly, (THEY DON'T EXIST)! You have a few videos of the At Home version, but no real discussion about the bed's operation.

 

   And It's certainly not the Clinitron Beds, or specialty beds in general. I have a lot of other questions on other topics, yet I don't know how to ask these questions on allnurses being that I'm not a nurse.

 

   I certainly didn't want to post this question in General Nursing, so I thought that I'd post it in the "Patient Education," specialty to see if anything comes of it. Hopefully I'll get a response, and maybe some answers to my questions. I'd be so grateful! Have a great day, and GOD BLESS!

[organichombre, ADN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

Hey ECMO! Funny, I saw your post and was immediately reminded of a patient of mine many years ago and his thirst for knowledge. He was a MD patient on the vent who obtained a Bachelor's in Business Administration along with the help of his mother, who would go to class with him and write down his notes. Kevin was an avid learner despite the fact that MD was claiming his limbs slowly but surely. But I won't go any further into his situation as I'm sure you understand the eventual outcome. But Kevin was also a victim of what you referenced in regard to "knowing a bit much and not being a medical professional". He knew more about the vent than most people they assigned to him and along with his mother and father, they were quite a team.

On to the Clinitron fluidized beds! I remember first seeing them back in the late 80's and they were so cool! We actually tried them out ourselves unbeknownst to management and quickly realized that this was the future of beds for immobile patients. But they are so bulky that I don't see them anymore. The theory behind them is such a grand idea; floating around on thousands of silicone beads, suspended in a air pressurized environment which quickly became like a sandy beach or an air pillow! Thanks for the memories and while I don't know the specs I do know the bed and how they felt!

[Dampire]

OK