Mom does not understand she should not walk

Jim-TX

Our 93 year-old mother with late stage Alzheimers lives in a memory care facility.  She was already very unsteady on her feet, and would forget to use her walker.  She had several falls, and ended up breaking her hip about 6 weeks ago.  It is not a bad break, but would require surgery and rehab to fix it.  With input from medical professionals, we made the difficult decision to not have her go through hip surgery.  Even if they could fix the hip, she is so unsteady she would likely fall again and re-break her hip.  Her pain was was effectively managed with medication, and she can now lay in the bed or sit in a wheelchair pain-free.

This issue is this:  She does not understand that she should not try to walk.  If left alone even for a few minutes, she will attempt to get out of bed.  We are currently paying extra to have private caregivers with her 24 hours per day to prevent her from getting out of bed and trying to walk. We are concerned about her falling and re-injuring herself. We are hoping to find a way to keep her safe, but not require the expense of a private caregiver 24 hours a day.  She still lives in the memory care facility.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

loveskitties

How about a hospital bed with the side rails up...she probably won't know how to operate them, and hopefully would not try to crawl over them.

They have alert pads so if the patient gets up it rings an alarm, but by the time someone gets to her may be too late.

She would need some way to call for assistance.  You would need to check with the facility to make sure she is able to do that on her own.

Jim-TX

Thanks for the helpful response!  The alarm pads might help, and I'll look into that.

Your rails idea might also help.   Her current hospital bed has rails, but they only go part way down the bed and she uses them to grab and try and climb out.  I'll see if there are options for longer rails that go the length of the bed.

Unfortunately, Mom does not know how to call for help.  Even if there were a button to push, she is beyond understanding that.

Thanks again!

kmasen_act2

Unfortunately, there's no easy way around this.  Ask Facilities or Nursing in the facility if she can have a specialized bed with guard rails.  In some cases, you can even get alarms on the bed and floor that will trigger when she tries to stand up.  This however, may not be encouraged by all facilities as some may view this as a restraint and many are trying to go restraint-free.

sandwichone123

You could try to arrange for a low bed. This is a hospital bed that goes all the way down, maybe 8 inches from the floor. She can try to get out of bed but will not be able to get up high enough to fall. Meanwhile when someone is there to help her they can raise the bed and get her into a wheelchair or whatnot.

Jim-TX

Thank you!  Yes, we will be discussing all these ideas with the facility.  I appreciate everyone's input.

jfkoc

Your mother is not going to remember or accept the fact that she needs help with wlking.

I would definitely pull in Hospice. While they all have a basic list they must comply with personalities make a difference.

If accepted they will provide a lot of equipment in addition to some helpful services. I thought my husband would freak out when he heard hospice but I enthusiastically told him that Hospice was now home health from Medicare.

mommyandme (m&m)

When I went through my CNA training, bed rails were not allowed due to “entrapment “ of the patient. Even brakes and trays on wheelchairs is a problem.  Wonder if the MCF has rules like that.

https://nursinghome411.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/LTCCC-Factsheet-Bed-Rails-1.pdf

abc123

Dear Jim, I’m sorry this is happening. You are correct that she is a fall risk and will fall again. It has been my experience that a PWD who is determined to get out of bed to walk….will indeed do so no matter how many rails are on the bed. Short of a 24 hour sitter, the only solution I know of is sedation. I will continue to follow this thread for ideas/suggestions that have worked for others.

I wish you the best.

Jim-TX

Thanks to everyone for their posts.  It is a difficult situation, and we will be talking to the facility and hospice about our options.