fractured 7th cervical vertebrae

[rose151]

Hi, my sonis 31yrs and has just had a fall and has fractured his 7th cervical vertebrae, he was in hospital for 4 days and now has to wear a special collar that covers his chest , back of his neck and jaw, and to eat he has to have another support put on his forehead so that the jaw piece can be unscrewed and removed so that he can eat, he has been prescribed strong pain killers, but is still in alot of pain as he cant seem to get comfortable in anyway, he only sleeps a couple of hours at night as he cant stand the pain, he had another scan after fitting this collar to make sure that it was in place,and  has been told that he has to keep this collar on for approx 4 months, can you suggest anyway/thing that may help to make him comfortable, as just sitting in a chair or the sofa is really painfull and uncomfortable,he just doesnt know where to put himself, the other thing is he cant shower fully as he cant remove this collar, any suggestions on how we can wash his hair as well????i would be so gratefull for any professional suggestions that you can give me,
kind regards...a worried mother

[DILOPHOSAURUS]

I was in a situation like this a few years ago and I got more use to it after a while.  When my 4 months was up taking my brace off was scary.  I think you need to go to a dr just in case this pain is not expected.

[necknacked]

if you had a second collar, you could wash his hair in the tub if he positioned himself on all fours and let you do the the work.  then carefully remove the wet collar and replace with dry one, with minimal movement. i would also call the doctor and make him aware of his level of pain and inadequate pain regimen.  if he is uncomfortable with this, seek out a pain management specialist who wont be uncomfortable prescribing proper dosing for legitimate problems.  if he had pain relief, he'd probably be able to find a comfortable position.