How to help stand up and walk (and hallucinations)

sara711

It seems like just out of the blue one day, my mom could no longer stand up and/or walk without a lot of assistance. This started about 4 days ago and since then she's only gotten worse. Every time we try to get her to make the slightest movement (even to just sit up more on the couch) it seems to trigger some sort of fear/hallucination. She starts yelling and referring to "she/her" and that "they" are coming to get her. Once my dad and I are able to get her to stand up and support herself she can actually walk pretty well, but the process to get her up is very hard as she screams. She did not have any recent falls or change of health before this happened. I've thought she was boarding mid/late stages but as of recently she seems to be declining fast. Has anyone else experienced this where their love one just stops trying to stand up or walk, or also an increase of yelling/hallucinations? It's been so painful to watch her like this these past few days. She seems miserable and it breaks my heart. Hospice is coming tomorrow to evaluate her so we'll hopefully get some answers and advice too. Thank you.

Quilting brings calm

Please get a urine sample to the lab and test for a UTI.

sara711

Yes, I always have UTIs in the back of my mind but it's so hard to get a sample. I can't get her to the toilet frequently enough or with the right timing. She's just going in her depends.

Thank you for the feedback! :)

Marta

Is she in pain? See Teepa Snow video on how to discern whether a PWD is in pain.

JMack88

The doctor can get a urine sample with a catheter if she can't catch one (with help) so if UTI is suspected for any reason definitely get her to a doc so this can be tested.

The pain question is legitimate, if she has some kind of pain from a broken bone or maybe a collapsed disc in her back then the action of standing could be so painful that it causes this problem.

Finally, for caregivers who need to assist people up from seated positions you can get something called a gait belt or transfer belt from Amazon. https://a.co/d/eWdtxZE This is the one we got for assisting my mom after her fall. It has handles so you can assist her without pulling on her arms. You also can catch them if they stumble etc. The physical therapist said we'd picked out a good one.

M1

Glad that hospice is coming. Losing the ability to walk can be part of disease progression. Medications can help manage the hallucinations too. Let us know what they say.