Falling out of bed.

[garfield3]

Hello,
Not sure if this is the right section, but mum is at the end stage, but not actively dying yet. Apologies, if it is in the wrong part.

I spoke to Dad today and he said that the nursing home told him that mum (93) had fallen out of bed last week. She can't walk, feeding is an issue,speech and is incontinent etc. My question is what could have caused it and do falls in the end stage cause mental deterioaton ? She is badly bruised ,but that is all, hopefully. Last time though, she fell she broke her femur and ended in hospital.

It seems to be a bit of a crappy few days too. Since hubby has now got high blood pressure and possible heart issues and we are going for more tests this week. I am trying to dodge this pile of S***t that wants to land on my head, but don't seem to be doing a good job.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Lindy50]

Hi @garfield3 and I'm sorry to hear about your mum and OH. everything seems to come at once sometimes

Re your mum falling out of bed, I can't say what caused it obviously, but I do wonder whether she has 'cot sides' (horrid term I know) on her bed? My mum has soft, bumper-style sides on her bed. When she's in bed she's very comfortable, looks almost cocooned in there....and there's no way she could fall out.
Could this be considered I wonder? It may not help if your mum is physically active, as she might then try to climb over and fall from a worse position. Worth thinking about, though.

In general, I'd say that falls are generally as much caused by deterioration, as the other way round. The home should assess your mum's safety and put any necessary measures in place.

Hope all goes well for you and hubby this week.

All the best
Lindy xx

 

[canary]

Mum used to fall as she tried to get up out of bed and couldnt.
Her care home used to put the bed down so that it was only a few inches above the ground, put crash mats beside the bed and used an infra-red device that told them when she was trying to get out of bed.

 

[garfield3]

Hi @garfield3 and I'm sorry to hear about your mum and OH. everything seems to come at once sometimes

Re your mum falling out of bed, I can't say what caused it obviously, but I do wonder whether she has 'cot sides' (horrid term I know) on her bed? My mum has soft, bumper-style sides on her bed. When she's in bed she's very comfortable, looks almost cocooned in there....and there's no way she could fall out.
Could this be considered I wonder? It may not help if your mum is physically active, as she might then try to climb over and fall from a worse position. Worth thinking about, though.

In general, I'd say that falls are generally as much caused by deterioration, as the other way round. The home should assess your mum's safety and put any necessary measures in place.

Hope all goes well for you and hubby this week.

All the best
Lindy xx

Thanks for your kind words, in the past she didn't do rails/ cot sides and it cased real problems. She used to get stressed and abusive with them. She might be OK now since the alz&vas. & dementia has progressed. Things to think about.

BFN

 

[garfield3]

Mum used to fall as she tried to get up out of bed and couldnt.
Her care home used to put the bed down so that it was only a few inches above the ground, put crash mats beside the bed and used an infra-red device that told them when she was trying to get out of bed.

Don't think there is an infra-red alert, but there is a pressure mat. Dad did say something about a new bed though. Will see what happens.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[BeardyD]

My wife (65, mid to late-stage Alzheimer's + Parkinson's) started falling out of bed last year. Having had no problem previously she fell out of bed 3 times in 2 nights. She was pleased to have bed rails as the falling had frightened her. It is as if she has lost the concept of "edge of bed" as she sometimes presses her call button saying she is stuck in the rails when she is really trying to turn over and the rails are stopping her falling out of bed. She doesn't realise that she needs to turn in the opposite direction.

I've come across a care home and a nursing home that don't allow bed rails and insist on a mattress on the floor for a soft landing. My neighbour's father has bruises on his face from falling out of bed but the care home keeps finding excuses why rails aren't allowed. I'm not sure of the logic of this unless it is to allow the PWD to get up unsupervised. As far as my wife is concerned it is the falling not the landing that frightens her, and once she is on the floor she is not able to stand up again. As for getting out of bed unsupervised she would probably go 3 steps before the Parkinson's "sticky feet" kicked in and she would tumble to the floor hitting her head on anything that was around.

 

[garfield3]

My wife (65, mid to late-stage Alzheimer's + Parkinson's) started falling out of bed last year. Having had no problem previously she fell out of bed 3 times in 2 nights. She was pleased to have bed rails as the falling had frightened her. It is as if she has lost the concept of "edge of bed" as she sometimes presses her call button saying she is stuck in the rails when she is really trying to turn over and the rails are stopping her falling out of bed. She doesn't realise that she needs to turn in the opposite direction.

I've come across a care home and a nursing home that don't allow bed rails and insist on a mattress on the floor for a soft landing. My neighbour's father has bruises on his face from falling out of bed but the care home keeps finding excuses why rails aren't allowed. I'm not sure of the logic of this unless it is to allow the PWD to get up unsupervised. As far as my wife is concerned it is the falling not the landing that frightens her, and once she is on the floor she is not able to stand up again. As for getting out of bed unsupervised she would probably go 3 steps before the Parkinson's "sticky feet" kicked in and she would tumble to the floor hitting her head on anything that was around.

Thanks for your reply. I had forgotten spatial awareness issues and not realising she has to turn over or is at the edge. It is good to get another point of view and experience with things.