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by Carol Abaya, M.A.
Question: My aunt, 85,
recently fell, broke her hip and had to have hip replacement surgery. She is now in a nursing home, and we don’t
know if she’ll ever be able to come home.
I’m afraid my mother, 83, will fall, and then we’ll have double trouble.
Answer: The majority of
elders aren’t seriously injured when they fall.
Only 5% to 15% result in fractures or broken bones that lead to loss of
independence.
When my
mother was in her early 80s, she slipped down several cellar stairs. She couldn’t get up for an hour and my father
did not hear her calling him. She didn’t
break anything, but didn’t tell us for three months
that she had fallen. I had the stairs
fall-proofed. It was only after a
blizzard when she shoveled 18” snow that her injuries negatively impacted what
she could do. She ended up having total
hip replacement surgery at age 86, and my father had partial replacement at
93. Two months after surgery, my mother
resumed driving. My father was walking
up and down the hospital hall the next day.
But the
seriousness of falls, especially this time of year, and their impact on lifestyle
should not be overlooked. Evaluate your
mother’s health and overall ability to do things for herself. Does she have difficulty walking or with her
balance? Are there obstacles in the
house (furniture blocking easy movement, telephone or electric wires across a
floor) that are problematic? Is she on
medication that can impact balance? Have
her bones become less dense and fragile to the point where they can just break. This happened with my father. Bone density tests are now covered by
Medicare.
During
these icy months, there are a number of things that you can do to help protect
her and head off falls.
Have
the drugstore deliver medications, rather than her picking them up. Make sure there are extra staples in the
freezer -- juice, bread, pre-cooked foods. Also, canned goods like tuna that
can be eaten without cooking should be available. Make arrangements with a local grocery store
or restaurant or a neighbor if you live far away, to deliver food in really bad
weather. Get someone else to shovel
snow.
Encourage
regular exercise -- walking is the best.
My father did 2 to 3 miles a day on a stationary bike until he was
92. Have her use a cane or walker, if
she is unsteady on her feet. Good eating
habits help retain bone and muscle strength.
Increase
the number of night lights in the house -- bedroom bathroom, hall and
kitchen. It is very common for elders to
walk around at night. And make sure
medications do not interact and make her mentally fuzzy or dizzy.
In your aunt’s case, make sure she gets appropriate physical therapy in the nursing home and continue it when she returns home. Medicare will pay for both nursing home treatment home visits.
Are you juggling doing errands for your aging parents, your children, yourself and working at the same time? Are you tired, stressed out and upset that your once vibrant parent is now frail and needy?
Do you feel alone? Rest assured you are not alone! The Sandwich Generation is dedicated to the 50 million Americans who may have elder/parent care concerns and/or responsibilities.
* * *
Do
you have a question? Send it in. Although letters cannot be answered
individually, appropriate letters will be answered in this column whenever
possible. Letters may be edited. Send letters to Ms. Carol Abaya, mail direct
to her at
Carol Abaya is an international-award-winning journalist and creator of the unique magazine The Sandwich Generation: You & Your Aging Parents.
NOTES TO EDITORS: text = 561 words; other material = 160 words
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