Hospitalization

pamu · March 27

My mom (87YO) in MC tried to escape yesterday. She was severely agitated and combative with the staff (pushing the doctor and squaring up against nurses and people trying to help her). My sister and I were called to see if we could come by to try to de-escalate the situation. Long story short…we couldn't (In fact I think we made things worse)…no one could. She had to be restrained by two firemen, one EMT and several PT and nurses. It was horrible. She spent the night in the ER. We were told that she tested positive for a mild UTI and that they were giving her an antibiotic and starting her on 25mg of Seroquel. We are waiting for a call from the geriatric psychiatrist at the hospital to see if they will be able to admit her to get her further stabilized on some more effective drugs. There are a lot of moving parts to this. Her behavior up to this has been consistent and we are not surprised this happened but are traumatized by her reaction. We know that UTI's can cause temporary extreme behaviors. We are hoping the hospital doesn't just write this off as a UTI issue. Mom doesn't like her MC but my sister and I think it's a great place. It's not exactly beautiful but the staff there has been wonderful to her and us these past 6 months. We don't want her to lose her place there but not sure how this will all play out. Not sure they'll take her back…and not sure if the bed will be available. So much to think about.

caregiving daughter · March 27

Understand and have been there. In some ways, attributing to the uti is good as you have a cause for the extreme behavior. I'm sure the situation was hugely traumatic to all but your mom likely won't remember so it will not continue to stress her. When she returns, you can emphasize to the mc that this is not her baseline—rather, it's the infection's fault. It's great if a psychiatrist can consult at the hospital. If they are not able to hold her, my mom's mc brought in psychiatrists for the same type issues.

I tried a bunch of things to de-escalate agitation. One circumstance was when my mom said she was breaking out and wanted me to go with. I said, "let's go". I then came up with 101 reasons along the way on why I needed to take a bit longer, e.g., my phone needed to be charged, I needed to pack up some of her things, I had to get a glass of water, etc. She eventually fell asleep as I progressed through the excuses.

Another thing that worked is a visual cue. During one period of her agitation, I realized I had jeans on that were ripped at the knee. I came up with a big excuse that I fell and started limping. Her seeing made a difference. If you are concerned about a difficult visit, try keeping a sling in your car and wrap up your arm. It may change the dynamic. I know this sounds crazy but you are just trying to go minute by minute.

Hospitalization

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