She's been living at my sister's house for the last 18 months or so, ever since she had a crisis with her aneurysms. Mom was reasonably able-bodied, but the house was very big with three levels and it was clear she needed a little help taking care of herself as well as more companionship. And my sister and her husband have been very generous in converting a room on the main floor of their own house to be Mom's room.
And it's all worked out amazingly well so far. The doctors were only giving her six to eight months back then. But the meds to control blood pressure have worked very well. And she's really flourished at my sister's house. She has a comfortable room. She has people to talk to every day. My brothers live not too far away. And though they all live in the Chicago area and I'm in San Francisco, I've been able to get out there every two to four weeks. There's generally some kind of a family party once a week. And it's all added to her emotional well-being.
The only worrying sign was a tendency to fall down. It happened a couple of times when she was at home. One time a few months ago she fell off the doorstep into the bushes at my brother's house when I was standing right next to her holding the door open. She just tumbled over for no apparent reason. It was soft ground and she wasn't even bruised.
Then about a month ago she fell at home and ended up bruising her face. Well with luck you can avoid serious injury even half a dozen times or more. But it became increasingly obvious what was coming. I asked her to discuss the issue with her primary care physician on a recent scheduled visit. But she didn't.
Then I got the call from my sister yesterday afternoon. I'm traveling in Asia at the moment, and it was about 3 am in Chicago. Mom was standing right next to her bed when she fell and broke her hip. Of course she was hospitalized immediately.
The surgery was earlier today. And the surgeon said it was a clean break just below the ball. And I guess he was able to accomplish what he intended without too much difficulty.
I talked to Mom beforehand and she seemed very upbeat, though the pain meds had somewhat diminished her lucidity.
She's 81. Her mind is as clear as ever. And though she's been accustomed to being independent in her movement it would be wrong to say she's physically strong. She's kind of a thin, shrunken little old lady with a good sense of humor who enjoys company.
And now I come to the purpose of the diary. I'm sure a lot of you have had to deal with this kind of situation before.
Fell and broke her hip.
It's the commonest thing in the world. But we're wondering what you do afterwards?
She'll be in the hospital for several more days, but probably not even a week all told.
There'll have to be a rehab period. Can they come to her at home? Or are there special residential rehab facilities?
My sister would like Mom to continue living with them. But she and her husband have demanding jobs. And it's clear that Mom can't really be left alone any more. How have others handled that?