Low Profile Box Spring

About a month before I was diagnosed with ALS, I bought myself a new bedroom set, including a new bed, mattress and box spring. After all, when I left Carla I took virtually nothing beyond two suitcases of clothing. In the family home I left every stick of furniture, every sheet, pillow case and blanket, every dish, cup, plate, pot, pan and glass. The only things I had were a few bits and pieces that had migrated to Calgary with me over the previous couple of years while I had been maintaining an apartment here and a home there.

Furniture, sheets, quilts and almost every other household accouterment was a must when I moved in here. Even some of the things Peter had kindly stored for me over the summer were damaged in the moving. As my Dad used to say "Three moves, one fire; same thing." So I went out and purchased a very nice, reasonable quality headboard, footboard and mattress set including a European style top mattress and a sturdy box spring.

Now, just over a year later, I have replaced that good quality standard box spring with a low profile box spring. The standard box spring is somewhere between 8 1/2" and 9 1/2" high. A low profile box spring is only 4 1/2" high. This means my top mattress sits closer to the floor, and so do I when sitting on it. The purpose of this purchase was to make it less difficult, and less dangerous, for me to transfer from my wheelchair to my bed. Note I did not say "easier"; no matter what you do, this transfer is not easy. It is always, and will become increasingly, difficult.

I still need a bit of a lift when transferring, so I still do the simulated stand and rotate maneuver. Now, though, the target is not as high and my feet remain well planted on the ground. With the standard box spring, my feet just barely touched the floor, making them basically a dead weight dragging me off the bed. Now, at least, my feet act as touch points, meaning I am less likely to slide during or after the transfer. It is rather a nice thing sitting on my bed not fearing the potential slip that came with the standard height box spring and mattress.

It is another cost, one of so many associated with this disease. It is another thing I needed to replace so I could do what "normal" people normally do. I know others use low profile box springs. They do so by choice in most cases. For me, and people like me, these things are not a choice; they are what we need to keep living a life that even vaguely simulates normal.