Making Sleeves

This is not my original idea and I am sure if you google you will find other tutorials but I thought I would share how we make our sleeves.

Junior hasn't worn long sleeved shirts for years.  He gets hot easily and is often at doctors appointments so it is much easier to use short sleeve shirts with sleeves added.  When he was younger we used Baby Legs , leg warmers, as sleeves.  As he got a little bigger the baby legs no longer worked and we happened upon another place that sold a bigger version.  I knew those would not last him forever as he grew so was thrilled when someone showed me how to make my own sleeves for him out of long socks.
This is Junior wearing a pair of "sleeves" at a doctors appointment.  These are great at appointments because they can just be pulled down for things like taking a blood pressure.  

Our biggest problem now that Junior is bigger is finding long enough socks to work.  Regular knee socks are no longer long enough so we need "over" the knee socks which are difficult to find in patterns that are not too girly.  Yesterday at Joann's craft store I found a selection of St. Patricks Day over the knee socks and one of the pairs would work for a boy.

To start we cut the foot off the sock.

 Then cut the toes and heel off so you are left with just the middle.

Fold that piece in half. You now have a loop with the cut edges together on one end. 

 Slide over the cut end of your sock with the cut end of  your loop from the foot of the sock pointing up.

Stitch around the sock near the top.  Fold up so the cut edge no longer shows and that is your cuff. In this picture the bottom sock shows the sock with the "cuff" and the top sock is the opposite end that will be at the top of the arm when worn.

 Junior wearing the sleeve.  These "over" the knee socks make the perfect size sleeves for him and are not too snug.  They are slightly long but not enough to be an issue and will allow for some growth. 

Another pic of him with his sleeves on.  In this pic he was helping make rice crispy treats.  The mask on over the trach is just in case he coughs while we are mixing everything.

"How to" booklets

Junior has a lot of medical equipment and of course each thing has a specific way it is used. 
Using it all is second nature to me but what if someone else needs to help.  If I were sick or had an injury that prevented me from doing everything myself.  Also we have nurses a few hours a day and though I train them very carefully on each machine sometimes having the visual reminders would be very helpful. 

A couple weeks ago I took pictures of his machines along with step by step pictures on how to set up and use the machines.  I then edited the pictures and added arrows and words.  I sent them off to walmart to be printed and enlarged and got them back late this past week. 
I laminated each picture using contact paper and then made a "cover" page for each machine that had step by step directions for use. 
Punched a hole in the corner of each card and added a ring.  Now the booklets hang with each machine(so far there are eight booklets but I realized I need to add a few more) .

Here are some pictures showing the booklets.  The cover page is followed by 2-9 pictures depending on which machine.  The nebulizer book only needed 2 pictures but the ventilator book needed 9. 

The front of one of the booklets(Junior was helping so Spider-man stickers were necessary).

 The pictures inside the book, this is just showing one of the 3 pictures for the feeding pump.

 The feeding pump booklet hanging just below his pump. 

 Junior's Trylogy ventilator with the booklet hanging with it.

 The first of nine pictures included in this booklet.

 The IPV booklet

 

 The booklet you see in this picture is for the airway vest which is on the bottom shelf of the cart.

Here are a few examples of some of the pages in the various booklets.

 

 

Vent/Bipap Hose Covers

We have a great deal of trouble with condensation in Junior's vent hose.  I was needing to get up multiple times a night to empty the line and this was even with a water trap in place to catch the condensation.   I spoke to several trach/vent moms and it was suggested that I try covering the hoses.  I decided to try making some covers and they ended up working well.  I still have to empty the line during the night but much less frequently. Junior also thinks his covered vent hoses look very cool.

*Be sure that it is okay to cover your vent lines before doing this.  I have one friend who told me because of the type of vent hose she has she cannot use covers on it. Talk to your child's doctor or respiratory therapist first.* 


I was told you only need to make a cover for the long hose which goes from the humidifier to the water trap.  We decided to also cover the shorter hose running from the water trap to Junior's trach connector.

To make the covers you will need two pieces of material.  One that is 19" X 6" and a second that is 2 yards X 6".

Hem each end of each piece of material.

I then stitch on a piece of velcro, face up.  Stitch the velcro on towards one side and stitch completely around the piece. Then add a second piece of velcro near the other side and this time stitch the piece face down and only stitch one end in place.  The velcro could be added after the cover is complete but I find it much easier to add first.

 

 Turn the material upside down and fold in half. 

 Stitch a seam down the entire side of each piece.  Then turn the material right side out.  This takes a little work but can be done.

 Slide the hose in and then use the velcro to pull the material snug at the base of the hose. 

 

 Thats all there is to it. 

Here are a few pics showing one of our covers in use.  Ignore the writing on the pictures.  These are pictures I am using in a "how to" booklet for Junior's daily medical gear. 

 This is showing the water trap which is between the two hoses which I made the covers for. This set up is clipped to Junior's bed at night.

 There are actually 2 short hoses in our set up along with the long hose but I do not cover the hose running from the vent to the humidifier. 

Some fun vent covers.
These are a gift for one of his friends, needed matching feeding tube pads of course. 

 Junior's vent was even ready for Christmas this year.