Traveling Tips: Protecting your skin on long road trips in the car

This past Thanksgiving weekend I got in my car, as many other millions of people did, and headed out on a 3 hour road trip. One thing that I need to think about now, when I travel is how to make my trip as comfortable as possible. The car that I drive is a 2003 Saturn Ion, which is a great car because it is easy for me to get my wheelchair in and out of it, but the driver’s seat has a very hard surface. I often get uncomfortable after driving for about an hour because the car seat is not custom fit to my body, as my wheelchair cushion is. For example, I am always pressure mapped for a wheelchair cushion. I have to remember that if I spend long hours driving in my car, I also have to protect my skin so I don’t get pressure sores.

Over the past 15 years since I have been paralyzed with no feeling from the mid-chest down, my body and muscle mass has changed. I am amazed at how much muscle I still have in my legs, but over the past few years I have noticed more atrophy, especially on my backside. The bony areas on my butt which are called the ITs (Ischial Tuberosities) are more prominent now. I used to be able to travel in the car for long periods of time without worrying too much about pressure on my backside, but I now take the time to do pressure releases, stretch out and take breaks.

For this trip, I decided to make some adaptations to my driver’s seat, to help accommodate my comfort level and alleviate pressure on my back and butt. I put a car seat cover on the driver’s seat, and added a cushion and lumbar support. This way the lumbar support and cushion would stay in place underneath the car seat cover and if needed, I could adjust them. I had tried in the past to add other adaptations to the car seat, but the supports would slide around. These two adaptations really made quite a difference on my 3 hour car ride. The lumbar support helped me sit up straighter and the cushion helped protect my skin from sitting too long. When I got to my destination I wasn’t in a lot of pain and felt pretty good.

My return trip home, due to heavy holiday traffic, turned my 3 hour ride into 6 hours. Due to the fact that I took the cushion out of the car seat cover and used it where I was staying for other needs, I forgot it on the way back. I noticed a huge difference in my pain level without the seat cushion. I did some pressure releases and readjusted myself, but it wasn’t working. I could tell that I was putting a lot of extra pressure on my butt and knew I might have put myself at risk for a pressure sore. Once I got home I checked my skin and I was right, I had a red spot which looked irritated.

It has been a couple of days now and the red spot is a little better, but I am keeping an eye on it. I realize that as time passes my body is going to keep changing, my muscles may continue to atrophy, and it is my responsibility to make sure I check my skin. I have been very lucky over the years and have only had one minor pressure sore, but it still took quite a few weeks of bed rest to heal. I take my skin issues very seriously, because I have friends with spinal cord injuries that have been in bed up to a year because of a sore. I don’t want that to happen to me. Car seats are not designed to accommodate disabilities, so learn from me and take precautions to protect your skin while driving.

Tammy Wilber
~Driving and Sitting Safely~

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving?

This past week I was reminded that I have a lot to be thankful for, and especially since it is almost Thanksgiving. Out of nowhere I received a letter in the mail announcing that a health professional that I knew for a long time passed away. She was a person who happened to be my nurse for the last 8 years. I am thankful that I had her as my nurse because she always went above and beyond the role of just a nurse, she was a friend! I didn’t find out exactly what happened to her until a couple of days later, and was shocked to hear she had battled cancer for a long time. I didn’t even know she was sick. The last time I saw her was in July when I was having severe and mysterious stomach pains and had already made to 2 trips to the ER with out anyone knowing what was happening to me. She specialized in working with people who have spinal cord injuries, so when I didn’t have a clue what was causing my stomach pains I went to see her because I knew I would be in good hands.

Over the years I have had some great health professionals, but it wasn’t until I moved to Washington State that I found a team who always made me feel like their number one patient. I was amazed at my first appointment how thorough my new doctor and nurse were. I was not just rushed in and out so the doctor and nurse could get to the next patient; I was shown compassion, respect, and received unbelievable care. I thought that at my next appointment they probably wouldn’t even remember me. Well I was wrong! No matter how little my medical issues were or how big, they always worked as a team to try and figure out what was the next move. They made sure that if I didn’t feel comfortable with the outcome of my appointment, I would get a personal follow up email or phone call from one of them. I had never heard of such a thing. My nurse made sure I was taken care of. If my refills on my medications ran out, and I forgot to call ahead, I could always count on my nurse to call in my prescription, no matter how busy she was. Also, if they had a full day of patients, but I called about something serious, they would figure out a way to fit me into the schedule. A couple of times they saw me during their lunch hour. Now that is dedication!

On this Thanksgiving I am reflecting upon how lucky I am to have such great medical professional’s in my life. I have an amazing doctor and am so thankful for the wonderful care I got from the nurse that worked with him for so many years. I will continue to receive medical care from my doctor, but I know the next time I go to an appointment it will probably be really hard. When I get there my nurse of the last 8 years will no longer be there to greet me and ask me how I am doing, it will be her replacement. She loved her job and I know it wasn’t just me that she made feel like her number one patient, she did this with a lot of other people. I also heard from a friend of mine that she kept her illness very quiet and worked right up until a couple of weeks before she passed away. That is how much she loved what she did. She lived for her patients and making sure they got the best care possible. I will never forget her, and will always be thankful she was my nurse!


Tammy Wilber
~Thankful for nurses everywhere!~