A bit of a scare

Ed1937

Last night, a little after 6 PM, DW fell in the dining room. 75% of the time I'm holding her hand when she walks because she is not particularly great on her feet. I did not do that last night, and I think she tripped over the dog, but not sure. She hit her head on a chair or the table, and was unconscious for maybe 5 minutes or so. I called an ambulance, and they took her to the hospital. When I got to her bedside, she had a black eye and an abrasion next to her eyebrow, but she was wide awake. After a CT scan, she was released because everything looked normal. This morning the black eye is gone! And there is no headache. Close call for sure.

jfkoc

happy face emoji...

Beachfan

Ed, you must have been frantic!  Falls are so scary and so often unavoidable.  Before placement, DH fell several times.  I was always within 5 feet of him; he would get his feet tangled up, or trip over something and down he went, almost in slow motion.  Getting him on his feet was the hard part; he would panic and couldn’t figure out how to maneuver his arms and legs to stand back up.  Usually, I could wait him out and once calm, I could help him up.  Occasionally, a family member was enlisted to help. He never required medical attention, but a day or so later, I would discover a nasty abrasion on an arm or knee. One of my greatest fears was an incident like yours with DW; I worried that he wouldn’t cooperate with medical personnel because he couldn’t seem to process what was told to him.  I’m glad DW is on the mend and hope you are calm as well.

Kibbee

Of all the things I have to deal with as a caregiver, falls are the most frightening and the most frustrating.  Frightening because of the risk of injury to DH (and myself), and the challenge of assisting him to get back up on his feet or into his bed/wheelchair.  And also frightening because each fall leaves me anxious about the future, wondering how long I will be able to take care of a person who cannot walk safely and cannot transfer from bed to chair to toilet without assistance.  The falls are also frustrating because they may have been avoided if only DH had enough functional cognition to  understand and appropriately act on the knowledge that he needs assistance to walk and should not attempt it on his own.

penelope45

I have been following this forum for quite a while, but this is the first time i have posted.  Regarding falls.  If my DH falls and there is no injury from the fall, I can call the NON emergency number at the fire dept and they will come and pick DH up for me.  I literally tell them my husband has fallen and can't get up.

This service is available in my small town, but i believe it is available everywhere in Arizona.   The firemen are always kind and polite.  After the first time it happened they remembered DH's name and behaviors, so i didn't have to explain.  They also check him for injuries.  You might check and see if the same resource is available to you.  A wonderful tool to have in the crazy world of care giving.    

Quilting brings calm

That must  been very frightening and stressful.  I’m sure you are also keeping a  close eye for the next few days in case something hidden pops up.

Ed1937

Penelope, welcome to the forum. If you've been reading it for a while, you probably know it is an excellent resource for all of us. And thanks for the post. It's always good to check to see what services are available in our home towns.

M1

So sorry you both had to go through that Ed.  Falls are a big concern here too, you just can't prevent all of them.  Glad things are okay and hope they stay that way....

LadyTexan

I am sure that was very scary for you both. I am glad your DH is rebounding quickly. I am puzzled at the black eye disappearing the next day. That seems very fast.

DH fell again yesterday. Its scary and frustrating. Now I am not capable of getting him up. The FD came when called for a lift assist.

DH is fine, but he was sore for the rest of the day.

Marie58

Ed, I'm glad DW is OK. Falls are scary . I also wonder how a black eye disappears overnight??

Funny, not funny, story. Our son is a firefighter/paramedic. They get a lot of calls for lift assist. They also get paramedic students from the local college who observe or ride along as part of their training. He tells them a big part of the job is that "we move people".  But seriously, they want to help, so don't hesitate to call them.

ladyzetta

((Dear Ed))))

I am so sorry for what you must have gone through last night. Please take care of yourself and get as much rest as you can. Please keep us updated on how your DW is doing. Hugs Zetta 

Ed1937

Yes, that black eye disappearing is puzzling. When I saw my wife's eye this morning, I thought maybe I didn't really see a black eye, but thought it might have been a shadow or something. My daughter was with us at the hospital, so I asked her if she noticed the black eye last night. She did. When I told her it was gone, she couldn't believe it.

DW acts like nothing at all happened. She didn't remember falling, but did remember being in the hospital.

Jeff86

Sorry, Ed, that you had that scary experience.  Glad it turned out better than it might have.  

My DW is not steady on her feet, and falls are an ongoing worry.  The last time she fell was, fortunately, several years ago now but she fractured several ribs at the time.  Am as vigilant as possible to be by her side to assist her…but no one can be 100%….

Joydean

Ed, so glad your wife is okay! I’m sure it scared the heck out of you. Like most others, that black eye healing over night is truly a miracle. Glad you guys are safe. 

billS

Oh Ed the fact that she lost conciousness is really alarming. I hope that event did not accelerrate her decline.

Kevcoy

Very scary indeed.  Not only do we have to worry about our loved ones falling but as we get older a falling accident to any of us can be awful.  I tripped on a parking curb a couple weeks ago and went down to the ground.  Luckily I wasn't hurt but I needed help getting up.  I had a horrific fall three years ago and fractured my tibial plateau and was laid up in a brace for nearly 10 weeks.  That was before DH was really bad and he could cook and drive me around.  Now I wonder what would happen.

Jo C.

Ed, I am so sorry; how frightening that must have been.   A loss of concsciouness - I can only imagine how concerning.  So glad your dear wife is doing so much better.  I guess that you now have more gray hairs than ever.  Whew!

It sounds as though she is not accepting of a walker?   She has her Ed, and she may see you as her guardian angel most of the time and you may be "it" for all and sundry as her security.

Take good care of you too, Ed; she is so blessed to have you by her side.

J.

caberr

Ed, falls are so scary.  So glad she is ok.  And yes the black eye is strange!