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Melissa C. Caregiver

HVAD Bandages and Equipment

Mon, 09/30/2019 - 7:36AM

Hello

A dear friend of mine has just received and HVAD and will be coming home from hospital within a week. Some ladies and I are working on moving her bedroom downstairs and wanted to setup an area to store all the bandages, equipment and items needed for driveline management. What has been the best way to store all this equipment for easy access? The hospital advised that a shipment will be coming shortly so we wanted to get a head start. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated

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Laura S.

Fri, 10/04/2019 - 8:40AM

Hello,

I have a Heartmate II controllers, 8 batteries, battery charger, and wall power to donate.  Please message me if you or someone you know is in need.  

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Chuck K.

Mon, 05/01/2023 - 4:05PM

Hi. Am new to both LVAD (1 month today) and this forum so forgive me if I repeat something already posted

My caregiver (spouse) and I were discussing how we might respond to a nighttime disaster (fire) and since being on wall power how long would it take to switch from wall power to batteries and exit the house that might be burning. Ive read where some sleep in batteries but my provider says no due to the inability to hear the alarms. I also worry that should there be a fire, and we were able to exit, and the house burned with our equipment would I have enough time for a three hour drive to Henry Ford. A lot of what if’s but I’m a newbie and still learning. Have anyone else gone through that thought process and, if so, how did you resolve it.

Thanks

Chuck K

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Carl S.

Thu, 05/18/2023 - 12:10PM

Chuck K,

I've had my LVAD since 11/21.HFH  This is what I do at night. I'm sure someone has other, and maybe better ideas. During the day I wear an LVAD vest that has pockets for my equipment. At night I switch the batteries  to my battery holsters,. I modified the controller holster with a strap that goes around my neck, instead of wearing it around my waist, I've never liked the waist position. The controller hangs in front of me. At night when I'm hooking up to wall power, I take the controller out of it's holster and put it in bed with me. The holster I put on the floor next to my bed. The next thing I do is put new batteries in my battery holsters. I put them on the floor beside my bed. This way if something happens like a fire or loss of power, I can quickly put them on knowing they are charged. Couple of other things, keep an emergency light source near by. I use the lite on a head strap type. It makes it easier to see what you're doing. I don't know if you have had a problem with  making the connections. I did at first, I was always turning  them until I got them lined up in the  right position  to connect.  To help me I painted little orange marks on all my equipment so that I can easily line up the plugs, to the wall connector, and to the battery clips in the morning. The mark on the cords has to go behind the knurled connector of course. Marked the clips on the top. I did the same to my backup equipment that I carry. I got the ideal from the RED arrows that are on the batteries and the battery clips to make them easier to line up and connect. Loss of wall power is not as bad because of the 15 reserve in the controller. FIRE would be a different matter. I'm going to start practicing disconnecting from the wall connector to the battery clips until I get real good at it., I hope this helps somewhat.

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Larry B.

Mon, 05/08/2023 - 11:53AM

We just use a 4 ft cheap bookcase. Battery charger sits on top of the bookcase and everything else such as dressing kits, bandages,, etc are put on the shelves in an organized manner so it is all easy to get to and keep track of for ordering purposes. Particularity for new LVAD recipients I highly recommend something like 5he medical grade Goo Gone when changing dressings. Does the job without a great deal of rubbing and smells good.

https://www.amazon.com/Goo-Gone-Bandage-Adhesive-Remover/dp/B07NF9D9YR?th=1