Reflections from Bed Rest (1)

Never let a good crisis go to waste. — Winston Churchill

On my first day of bed rest, I gave myself a small task: to really feel what it's like to be a bedridden patient, so that if I ever need to care for a family member in future, I can be more empathetic.

It's only been a short while, so I'll start by slowly noting down a few things:

What a bedridden patient needs is to be "supported," not "managed."

"Care" is a subtle word. To what extent should the carer decide what the patient can eat? What they can't eat? Whether they can get up to use the toilet? — This is an art. There's no right or wrong, but it calls for communication.

When you're bedridden, it's important to keep as much ability to look after yourself as possible. However devoted a carer is, they can never be as instant and timely as you are when doing it yourself, so for anything you can do on your own, make it as easy as possible.

Details include:

• A small table by the bed with tissues, wet wipes, a cup with a straw, a power bank, lip balm, hand cream and other everyday items, within reach;

• At home, the room's lights can be swapped for smart lights so you can adjust the lighting yourself. This is when smart home tech really shows its importance — open the curtains when you wake up, close them when the sun is too strong, set the lights to the brightness and colour temperature you find comfortable... and so on

The environment within your line of sight affects your mood, so keep it as tidy and orderly as possible.

After all, you're in this space 24 hours a day; the slightest untidiness gets noticed, and looking at it while being powerless to do anything feels bad. Conversely, if everything you see is a neat, elegant layout, your mood is much better.

Besides the ceiling light, the room should have other light sources — ideally a desk lamp or floor lamp.

Because a bedridden person lies flat, facing the ceiling light directly is very glaring. Dim the ceiling light and add soft light from the side, and it's much more comfortable. One or two smart bulbs greatly boost your happiness.

Keep a regular routine even in bed.

Try to keep breakfast, lunch and dinner at fixed times, and agree on when to switch the lights on and off morning and night. This avoids bodily changes caused by a disrupted body clock. Since you're already bedridden, the rest of your bodily functions need looking after all the more.

About Me

It really doesn't hurt much — hugs to everyone who's been hugging me.

This is my "lying flat" pose. Hahaha, some people are curious how I type when I'm bedridden — look, this is how I type.

My attitude and mood have stayed firmly on point. On the day of the injury, in the emergency room, while they disinfected my palms full of wounds, it hurt so much that I loudly recited texts from my middle-school Chinese lessons to distract myself...

From "When Heaven is about to confer a great task upon a person, it first tries their mind with suffering, toils their sinews and bones, and leaves them in want" to "A mountain need not be high; it is renowned if an immortal dwells there" to "The waters of the Yellow River come down from the sky, rushing to the sea, never to return" and on to "I have a dream" — a whole medley of poetry, and the entire emergency room was filled with laughter...

Seeing me like this, you can all rest assured 😁.

But for all my friends' care and support during this time, a simple "thank you" can't express the solemn gratitude in my heart...

Life has given me so many gifts, and this time it let me escape disaster once again. At the same time, heaven has given me time to lie down properly, not to be busy, but to take a good look at the people around me who love me — you.

Every message and every bit of support from you makes me feel like a lucky one wrapped in love.

You make me feel that this world is so worth it.

I'll rest and recover well, and be up and bouncing around again soon!