How to avoid bed sores for bedridden husband (87)?

The best solution to this (offered by hospice probably) is one of those air mattresses. It moves the patient around all the time. My mom had one when she had cancer and was bed ridden and it actually kept the sores from forming. She too had a broken leg caused by cancer lesions and had them on her spine making it impossible to do any of the the wonderful things that was mentioned when the broken bone was first found. They did place her leg in a removable brace that helped her pain levels. She was coherent until they put her on morphine to have her die within two days later but that is something different than what you are dealing with. We used pillows and wedges to try to move her around. With her leg I depended on the mattress but did help her move around a bit on the mattress using pillows to make sure her heels do not touch the mattress (we were told by hospice that the most popular places for bedsores is the heels of the feet due to mattress pressing on it while laying on your back, your butt area or lower back again due to laying on it and elbows same reason as well as the back of the head. I used pillows to prop up her elbows moving their position every hour or so. Used a neck wrap to try to help her head touch different places throughout the day. With her back we used wedges because since it was only her leg, I was able to reposition her back and hip using a wedge or a body pillow to avoid one side or the other from touching. Her feet, I used pillows making sure to move it around putting pressure on different parts. The idea is to move and reposition without much pain to avoid blood pooling as that is what causes bedsores apparently.

On a side note Hospice can be wonderful and be a great support system. They answer questions, offer suggestions and if you are lucky enough to get them through medicare they can be there around the clock. They bring in the equipment you need for free (a total life saving in my mom's case) and take it with them when the equipment isn't needed anymore. They provided for my mom, her hospital bed with the special air moving mattress, a morphine pump, a bed pain, bed pads, special neck pillows, a suggestion on which kind of diapers or pullups to use, as well as medicines. I highly recommend if you can to call Hospice so you aren't alone in dealing with this.

So sorry Floridanainai, but it sounds like it is time to call in Hospice. The bedsores will only get worse and he needs good painkillers. You are so brave to attempt this, but call in some back up. Hospice is covered by Medicare.