My Gentleman Friend got a call last night from the woman who lives across the hall from his 94 yo mother. Mom fell in the bathroom, was found by a friend who stopped by to give her a cookie, and was taken to the hospital.
GF called the hospital, and they promised to call back, but nothing yet. Presumably they at least kept her overnight for observation, since he’s the only person available to take her back home.
She lives a 90 minute drive from here, so if she goes straight home, he will have to stay there with her for a few days at least. (And he has to sleep on the couch...not too comfy for a 67 yo guy with a bad back). If she doesn’t go home, then it’s probably a nursing home...and covid has been rampant in that community, so that is worrisome.
You know how it is with the elderly...every incident has the possibility that it’s the beginning of the end.
Dottie is a sweet lady, and she is frail. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!
Suggestion to avoid sleeping on the couch. Invest in an airbed (I have the Aerobed brand, but they're all similar.) They have a built in pump, are raised to near bed height (not the flat camping style), and are really pretty comfortable if inflated enough. I think most of them come with some kind of a storage case; mine is a wheeled zipper bag. I had a full size in my spare bedroom. Dad would say he was cold on the mattress side. Once I slept on it, I realized what he was talking about. I usually put a mattress pad and a blanket on it before the fitted sheet and that helped a lot.
A little update...GF spoke to the social worker at the hospital. His mom is likely to go to rehab after her hospital stay, but right now they are still figuring out exactly what is wrong. They are seeing her dementia and thinking she will not be able to live alone anymore.
GF has decided to look into nursing homes up here so he can see her more frequently and monitor her care. There’s a good one not far from here. But at the moment, there’s still no certainty about what’s going on; it’s all speculation.
For now we just have to be patient. He had planned to visit her tomorrow (before she fell), so he may go see her in the hospital and try to get some more concrete information. He lost his key to her apartment, so not sure if he can get in, but I’m sure he would like to tidy up in there if he can get in somehow. He’s hoping maybe his mom has a key with her.
It’s certainly possible that the dementia symptoms will improve as she recovers, but she has been depressed since her two girlhood friends and her brother died in the past few months, and that has precipitated some decline in her functioning too.
Not an easy situation to be in and so very smart to move her near him. I hope he finds a great place for her. It may not be a nursing home but some type of assisted living facility. I've learned there is a huge difference. Hopefully, nothing major is wrong in addition to her dementia.
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11-18-2020, 03:37 AM
