We had a lot of home medical equipment. Friends would joke about it looking like a hospital and then suddenly we had a daunting collection of medical supplies and equipment.
We’re Gonna’ Need a Bigger House
We eventually had to relocate to keep up with Erica’s care. Particularly, we needed a single-story house because she became too big to carry up and down the stairs for bathing.
There were also front and back porch stairs to contend with.
In-Home Medical Equipment
- Food pump to feed her via. the G-tube
- Suction machine in case she started gaging on spit or mucus 🙁
- Bi-pap machine for sleeping
- Oxygen concentrator for use with Bi-pap machine
- Nebulizer
Pro Tip
Always find ways to add a sense of playfulness!
- Wheelchair 4th one. Kids grow fast!
- IV pole
- Hospital bed (real) in her bedroom
- “Hospital bed” (homemade) in the family room
- G-tube kit. Erica was fed through a G-tube which is a tube into her stomach where her liquid food (PediaSure) is pumped. The “kit” contains spare parts in case of an emergency.
- Hazardous waste container box for disposal of things such as syringes, etc. It arrived with the porta-a-cath supplies.
- Erica was given a port-a-cath (in May 2000). This is a special device surgically placed under the skin on her right shoulder. This device is for easy access to blood drawing and, if needed, IVs can be placed there.
Consumables
- Cases of Pedia Sure
- Tons of disposable diapers
- Lots of medications and prescription drugs
- Portable oxygen tanks for her wheelchair
What other home medical equipment did you, or do you, have to care for your child? Let us know in the comments!
Oh yeah and on top of that… we had 3 dogs!
“Big Sister” pictured above was about the age when she wrote a Personal Narrative about having a little sister with a disability, and she read it aloud to her class at St. Mark’s school. Check it out here.
