delirium after hip fracture

Local Girl

My father has had worsening dementia over the past 5-6 years. he had a nasty fall 2 years ago so was put in foster care near my home. he was having behaviors at night, hallucinating and pacing which the caregiver handled by monitoring him as he paced. He fell about 2 weeks ago, fracturing his hip. he went into delirium in the hospital, up for hours and hours, requiring a sitters. they could not wait to get him out of there. His former caregiver would not take him back so I found another that lasted 4 days. He could not handle my father's night time agitation and was afraid to do PT with him.  My father is up hallucinating all night, thinking he needs to get up and go to work, talking to people that were not there and swearing. I talked to former caregiver prior to the falls and this behavior has been going on at night for the past 2 years. I had no idea how bad it was. 

I found another caregiver (fast) and starting working with Geriatrics to find some medication to calm him. he was started on depakote which has evened him out and trazadone at night so the caregiver can get some sleep. He used to love to walk but with the injury and his risk for falls and impulsiveness, it has been hard to get adequate exercise. I feel so bad giving him drugs to knock him out but i cannot move him every 2 weeks. he is a big man, combative at times. It is shocking how the hip fracture changed him so much. I pray that it is still delirium and he will recover (even a little). I have a sister who lives 2500 miles away and his wife has passed. it is overwhelming making these decisions for him. I feel guilty that my decisions may suit my needs but not be the best for him. I work full time and my spouse is currently unemployed. Guilt is my constant companion. 

M1

Don't feel bad about medications, the agitation and hallucinations aren't pleasant for him, you're not just sedating him but relieving discomfort for him. Hope things will even out. He may need to go to a geriatric psychiatry unit to get stabilised before he can be placed.

Local Girl

Thanks M1for your reply. I did get a referral to geri psych. Hoping to give him some comfort.