We spent almost $1,500 getting the house ready for Mom's hospital discharge.The thing that mattered most cost $79.
If you're bringing a parent home from the hospital soon, read this first.
Mom broke her hip in August. She's 81. 5 days in the hospital, then 2 weeks in rehab, and then the social worker handed us a discharge packet and a date.
My brother and I had 9 days to get the house ready.
We rented a hospital bed for $250 a month. We had grab bars put in for $340. A raised toilet seat, $45. A shower chair, $60. A walker with a seat, $110. My brother built a ramp over the front steps with $600 of lumber and a whole weekend.
We moved her bedroom downstairs and taped down every cord in the house.
I was proud of it. Every list we'd been given was checked off.
Not one of those lists mentioned the chair she'd spend 10 hours a day in.
Here's what the home health nurse told us in her first week home, and why I'd put it at the top of every discharge packet.
1. The damage can start before they ever leave the hospital
The nurse asked me a question I didn't expect. "How many days was she lying in that hospital bed?"
She explained that after a hip fracture or surgery, a lot of patients barely move for days. Pressure on the tailbone squeezes the blood supply shut, and the tissue underneath starts to break down deep against the bone, not at the skin.
So it can begin in the hospital and only show up on the surface days later, at home. By then it's easy to think it started in your house.
2. Coming home means more sitting, not less
I pictured Mom getting stronger and more active every day.
What actually happened: she was sore, tired and scared of falling. So she sat. Recliner after breakfast, recliner after lunch, recliner until bed. 10 hours a day in the same spot.
Healthy people shift in their seat every few minutes without thinking. Mom wasn't shifting at all. It hurt to move, so she didn't.
3. Know the 1 warning sign to check for
The nurse showed me what to look for. A red or purplish patch over the tailbone or sit bones that doesn't fade within 30 minutes of getting up.
If you see one, call the doctor or home health nurse that day. Don't wait to see if it clears.
We checked Mom every night after that. It took 10 seconds and gave me more peace of mind than anything else on our list.
4. Her cushion had already gone flat
I'd put a memory foam cushion on her recliner the day before she came home. Thick, 4.5 stars, "pressure relief" right on the box.
The nurse pressed her palm into the middle. It went straight through to the chair.
"It still looks thick," she said. "But where her weight lands, there's almost nothing left." Foam squashes most exactly where pressure is highest, under the tailbone and sit bones.
Up to 66% off + free gifts
I'd already spent a small fortune on things the lists told me to buy. This was the 1 that nobody mentioned, and with 90 days to try it, there wasn't much to lose.
Check availability →5. Why honeycomb gel works when foam doesn't
The nurse told us what to look for: something that moves the pressure instead of absorbing it. She said hospitals have used gel surfaces for this for years.
MediGel's honeycomb columns don't squash flat like foam. They buckle sideways and spread Mom's weight across the whole seat, so no single spot carries all of it. The open cells let air through, so she isn't sitting on a damp, warm pad all afternoon.
And there's a cutout right under the tailbone, the lowest, hardest-pressed spot. Nothing there for the bone to press against. Not a donut, either. The nurse said donuts just push the pressure onto the ring around the hole.
6. The nurse said she sees this every week
I asked her if we were the only family who'd missed this.
She laughed, kindly. She said families pour everything into fall prevention because that's what every discharge packet talks about. Almost nobody asks about the chair until she brings it up.
Now I bring it up first. My neighbor's dad came home from heart surgery last month, and before she'd even finished telling me about the ramp, I'd sent her the link.
7. 90 days to try it
When you're already spending money in every direction, a $79 cushion can feel like one more thing.
MediGel gives you 90 days to try it in your parent's own chair. If it doesn't work for you, send it back for a refund. It also comes with a 1-year warranty.
Mom's been home 11 weeks now. She sits through dinner with the family again, and every night I check her skin and find nothing. I'll take that over 1 more thing to worry about.
Add the 1 thing the discharge packet leaves out.
MediGel is only sold on the Westlyn website. It's not on Amazon or eBay, so watch out for copycats. Right now they're running up to 66% off while stock lasts.
- 1Order MediGel before your parent comes home, or today if they're already back.
- 2It arrives in a few days. Put it on the chair they'll use most.
- 3Check their skin each evening, and know you've covered the hours you can't be in the room.
Tip: If you know someone bringing a parent home from the hospital, send this to them. Their discharge packet probably doesn't mention it either.
Up to 66% off + free gifts
I'd already spent a small fortune on things the lists told me to buy. This was the 1 that nobody mentioned, and with 90 days to try it, there wasn't much to lose.
Check availability →