One of the stories I have worked on this week is about 5-year-old Alex. Alex Ray from Huddersfield, was born three months prematurely. He is profoundly disabled and has complex needs and has only ever been able to sleep a few hours at a time.
His condition means he is unable to walk or talk and is severely vision impaired. He also has severe epilepsy, scoliosis, both hips are dislocated and cannot sit up unaided and is tube-fed.
His mum, Sarah has frantically tried to find a mattress or sleep system that would allow Alex to sleep more than just a few hours.
Unfortunately, nothing has worked and Alex, along with his exhausted mum, has only ever had 3 or 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.
It wasn’t until they used a new UK manufactured sleep system, originally designed for people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), that the family’s life was completely transformed.
“The results have been amazing,” said Sarah. “Alex will settle almost straight away and he sleeps straight through the night uninterrupted, which was unheard of before.”
“He is also having fewer seizures, as a result of having more sleep and his physio has noticed he is a lot more relaxed in sessions, especially around his shoulders.”
Designed by Mobility with Dignity, a unique feature of the Comfier™ is a set of 10 large inflatable tubes, manufactured by Chesterfield based Speed Plastics, that fit easily on top of Alex’s existing mattress.
These large tubes can be individually inflated or deflated by the user or their carer until they are in a comfortable position. Unlike most static sleep systems, this means the user can decide exactly how soft or hard the support under any part of their body is at any time.
Sarah is able to easily inflate and deflate the tubes to suit Alex’s comfort and clinical preferences. Additionally, there is a tube under either side of the Comfier™ which keep Alex straight and protected in the same position throughout the night.
Read the story on the European Medical Journal website: http://emjreviews.com/press/pioneering-sleep-system-gives-5-year-old-boy-with-complex-needs-his-first-nights/