My Mum's had a couple of falls this last week. She's now managed to break ribs on both sides, but it also looks like she's probably broken her pelvis. I agreed with the GP that she shouldn't go to A&E as they couldn't do much & she's in a good nursing home. However, one of the nurses there is concerned about the risk of her making the injury worse and causing an internal bleed, as they can't keep her still. She can't remember she's hurt herself and gets out of bed if they don't leave her there. She's in no pain when she's still, but can't put any weight on her legs. The nurse isn't comfortable about my refusal to allow her to go to A&E & said that if there was a bleed, she'd have to have an operation. I said I felt that I would need a lot of convincing to allow that. She said that surely I should 'give her a chance'. I'm happy that I'm following my mother's wishes about this, but it would come down to what kind of life she'd have afterwards and the level of distress caused. My Mum screams in fear if she's even put in a wheelchair. She just can't cope with strange situations. Firstly, what would her chances of surviving an operation be? She's 91, with late stage 6/early stage 7 mixed dementia (she's had several small strokes this year). She'd be terrified and the last thing she'd know if she died under anaesthetic would be terror. Secondly, what would the chances be of her ever being mobile again? Her mobility has already been showing signs of serious deterioration, hence the falls. She was quite clear with me that I should not allow treatment other than to keep her comfortable if she became bed-bound & confused and specified that I should be prepared to let her die, so I feel I need to estimate her chances of what she would consider to be a reasonable quality of life, as opposed to existence. Can anyone help me to answer this?