Elder broken bones and infections

[Anonymous]

My mom took a huge fall today and her collarbone and fingers are broken.It's her second fall in 2 months span.Do we need to worry about infections? Is this time to move her to a nursing home? She's 80.

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry for this.
I don’t know about infection—presumably the doctor would know and prescribe antibiotics if needed (as a doc did when my father fell and fractured facial bones.)
You can’t just “move her” to a nursing home. It’s your mom’s life and her decision. Many people accept risk to live the life they want to live.
You might look at the circumstances of the falls to see what if anything could be done to improve stability. Hand holds, walkers, a visit to a podiatrist, nutritionist (is she consuming adequate food), medication review (are drugs contributing to dizziness, falls) etc. does she wear a medical alert device if she falls and needs to call for help?
If your mom wants to live independently, falls are the #1 threat to that. You could likely convince her to do lots of things to minimize the risk that are not a nursing home.
My dad was falling all over the place, multiple falls, and I could never get him to consider anything but remaining in his home. It’s his life….

[Anonymous]

I would worry about blood clots. Hopefully she can move around some. Sorry, OP.

[Anonymous]

OP --- this IS the time.

When the hospital wants to release her, state that it is not safe for her to return to her home. They will need to find a suitable place for her, of course ideally, you check them out beforehand. Know what would be a more pleasant place to go.

On DCUM we don't know your Mother's finances. Hope you do. If she has money, she will have choices.

[Anonymous]

As mentioned, you make it clear to the hospital you do not feel she is safe in her home and you are you need FIRM boundaries about your role. They cannot release her to unsafe environment, but they can try to guilt trip you into doing more than you can handle and keep in mind their needs increase exponentially.

I disagree with the person who says it's her life/her choice. That always goes along with the assumption that an adult child can be superhuman and upend their life for every emergency. You make it clear what the dangers are and make it clear you cannot be there for all the emergencies. If the social worker decides it is safe, that is on her not you.

If she goes to a nursing home and complains, I can attest the fact those who go home complain endlessly too. Some people can adjust well to all the stressors of aging, some can't. Meds help.

[Anonymous]

I’m the OP who said it’s their life.
There is safe and then there is safe.
My parents are frail but in their right minds and I have seen hospital social workers discharge my father in circumstances that seemed quite unwise to me. Their bar for safety seemed to be rather low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP who said it’s their life.
There is safe and then there is safe.
My parents are frail but in their right minds and I have seen hospital social workers discharge my father in circumstances that seemed quite unwise to me. Their bar for safety seemed to be rather low.

Do they have financial resources? Assisted living could be a good choice.

Read the book “Being Mortal”. He talks about end of life care in this country and balancing safety with independence.

[Anonymous]

Infections happen when you open skin, during an accident or surgery. Your parent’s medical team will be aware of this.

Falls indicate a general decline in cognition, vision, coordination and muscle tone. It means the elder is not safe in their home. They need a complete medical check-up, mental and physical, and either a rotation of aides in their house/apartment that’s modified (walker, bars to hold, no sharp corners to hit one’s head, no rugs to trip over)… or to go to a nursing home.

I don’t know why you’re focusing on infections… it’s just a tiny part of your parent’s problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP --- this IS the time.

When the hospital wants to release her, state that it is not safe for her to return to her home. They will need to find a suitable place for her, of course ideally, you check them out beforehand. Know what would be a more pleasant place to go.

On DCUM we don't know your Mother's finances. Hope you do. If she has money, she will have choices.

NP. Do you mean for Assisted Living?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Infections happen when you open skin, during an accident or surgery. Your parent’s medical team will be aware of this.

Falls indicate a general decline in cognition, vision, coordination and muscle tone. It means the elder is not safe in their home. They need a complete medical check-up, mental and physical, and either a rotation of aides in their house/apartment that’s modified (walker, bars to hold, no sharp corners to hit one’s head, no rugs to trip over)… or to go to a nursing home.

I don’t know why you’re focusing on infections… it’s just a tiny part of your parent’s problems.

Falls by themselves do not indicate a person should go to a nursing home. They would need to be pretty dependent for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP who said it’s their life.
There is safe and then there is safe.
My parents are frail but in their right minds and I have seen hospital social workers discharge my father in circumstances that seemed quite unwise to me. Their bar for safety seemed to be rather low.

It’s not the social worker’s choice. If the patient has capacity to make their own decisions, they get to make the decision to go home. The only thing the social worker can do is make sure a patient’s capacity is assessed by Psych, and call APS. They cannot force someone to go to a nursing home/rehab/ALF against their will. BTDT many times.

[Anonymous]

This is the PP and I agree with you, I was responding to those who say a hospital social worker could keep the mother from going home. I have BTDT too.

[Anonymous]

Nurse here. Two infections to think about because of decreased mobility would be pneumonia and UTIs. I imagine PT will suggest a rehab for a bit and that is probably her best option at the moment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nurse here. Two infections to think about because of decreased mobility would be pneumonia and UTIs. I imagine PT will suggest a rehab for a bit and that is probably her best option at the moment

Pt recommended inpatient rehab but they discharged her anyway. Sigh