Do’s by Dr. Mary Verghese

Constant vigilance! Watchword of the paraplegic: Day after day, week after week, year after year, for as long as one should live, the patient, exacting ritual:

• • examining the body thoroughly for reddened areas

• • using a hand mirror for back, hips, heels, and elbows

• • bathing daily with warm water and soap

• • then rubbing lightly over paralyzed parts

• • applying powder when the skin was dry

• • using foam rubber pads to keep pressure off any part that showed signs of redness

• • making sure that no part was subjected to pressure for more than an hour

• • keeping the skin dry
  •  treating every slightest abrasion as if it were a mortal wound.
  •  Monotonous, time consuming routines,  but for the paraplegic, a matter of life or death!

To preserve this checklist, download the poster here

Source:Take My Hands, The Remarkable Story of  Dr  Mary Verghese, a biography by Dorothy  Clarke Wilson