OT: waiting on a call... hoping for the best...

You are a good bunch of guys 'n gals... my heart goes out to you.

I just received a phone call from one of her long-time friends up there... someone who as my mom always says "would give you the shirt off her back". As I feared it is a broken hip. Apparently she was in some degree of pain but before the hospital did the x-rays they gave her a shot of morphine.

She has settled down for the night in the hospital. Tomorrow at 6am they are taking her by ambulance over to another hospital about 50 miles away where they specialize in bone repair & surgery. Surgery will take place tomorrow at 8AM. She will stay there overnight and will be returned back to the hospital where she lives on Sunday or Monday. I am supposed to get a call tomorrow around 11AM to let me know how things went.

Under the circumstances I know she is strong and doing reasonable well because she told her friend this "Knowing Paul he may already be on his way up here by now". I had to smile at that.

She has never had surgery and I know she will find the thought of all this a little stressing. Her friend said she was resting comfortably when she left, so I'm hoping she can fall asleep despite what she knows is coming up tomorrow. Unlike me, she doesn't have an apnea condition so no worries on that front.

I think she is going to get the best of care and I am pretty confident she will be fine. I am really pleased the surgery is taking place tomorrow... rather than a wait. I suspect this happening on a weekend is part of the reason for that. They likely have someone on call just for these types of situations over the weekend where during the week those same surgeons are likely booked up.

For now I am staying here. Like her friend said, she will need someone at home when they release her next week... so when I hear the day she is being release I will take some time off and head up to be there. I suppose they will have her moving around with a walker or something. Who knows... they may even arrange to have a nurse come in once or twice a day to help out.

I am so very grateful to her friend. She is doing everything I would be doing if I was there.

Again folks... thank you for all your kind words.

Paul, I'm sorry it's so serious, best of luck to her and to you during this challenge.

Paul,
I hope your mother heals perfectly. She will do better there is someone to do professional rehabilitation work with her from the minute it's possible. Physiotherapy is extremely important in these conditions.

O.

Paul,
Sorry to hear about all this. After my mother's stroke she still insisted on having her own place, and she pushed her lifeline button a few times after falling. Always a scary thing. There's a good chance they'll suggest admitting her to some sort of rehab unit post surgery till she learns to safely maneuver on her new bionic hip.

Just knowing how things have worked in the past with my mother, it is best to do due diligence up front. One time my mother was discharged to go home when she really should have gone to rehab. I was not physically capable of the total care she required and the home care they arranged was grossly insufficient. Next time we knew to tell them to not send her home till she was capable of independent living with part time assistance. Sounds hard, but Mom's rehab was much quicker with inpatient care and she wasn't hurt unnecessarily by my crude attempts to move and lift her while favoring my bad back. Just be careful what you agree to do. I know in your heart you feel that whatever she needs you'll manage to do. And maybe you can. Just be sure you know exactly what you're agreeing to do and for how long. (Not sure what your job situation is.)

Sounds like your mother is full of spunk. My guess is she'll be out in her yard or gone to the store for real in record setting time. My hat is off to you - you're a good son.
Kathy

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hear about your mother and hope she has a speedy recovery.

I know from experience from my Grandmother that she will recover just fine and maybe even feel better than before. My Grandmother is 86 and has had two broken hip operations in the last two years. The first one was no problem, the last one she is not really doing what she needs to be doing in order to get back to 100%. My grandmother has trouble walking and is very thin and frail but still handled the surgery well. It sounds like your Mother is in alot better shape than my grandmother so I think she will handle the surgery excellent. It is all about the rehab because that to me seems to be the hardest and since your Mother is very active it shouldnt be a problem.

My prayers are with her nd your family!

Craig

Best wishes for a good recovery for your mom. And having a son who checks in several times a day would be a blessing for almost any person in their 80s. As others have said, the fracture caused the fall, it would have happened anyway. Keep on calling her several times a day...family and friends keep folks young.

mar

Paul56, so sorry to hear about your mum's fall.

I agree with other posters - you did not cause her to fall, and in all likelihood she would have fallen whether you'd called or not. Perhaps simply bad or unfortunate timing.

Don't feel guilty, and don't stop calling - although it does not sound like you seriously believe that's an option. We all need to know that our families and friends care. And so many do, but neglect to display this. Your mother is lucky to have a son who shows her how he feels.

I am sorry to hear that her hip was fractured. It will all depend on how severe the fracture is and what kind of repair is going to be done to the hip as to what kind of rehab she will need to get her back on her feet again. Sending well wishes and keep us updated on her recovery.

Rosie

Well, I just go another call...

Surgery has not happened yet. They spent the morning getting her prepared for surgery. I'm actually just as glad it did not happen first thing this morning as this will give her some time to settle down after the trip and get familiar with the new surroundings although she has been there before. On the other hand it provides too much "think" time in which one can get worked up.

Apparently she sounds very good and says the only thing wrong is a sore hip right now.

I found out this morning that it won't be a total hip replacement... they are simply putting in some hardware (screws I'm told) to hold the bone together. I am thinking that is a much smaller procedure than total hip replacement.

Her friend tells me the difficult part will be recovery. I have read online anywhere from 3 to 6 months for healing to complete. During that time a limited amount of weight bearing and range of motion on the leg. Sounds like a walker and perhaps a toilet lift will be needed... anyways that is getting ahead of things right now.

Anyways, I am feeling better about this now... I think she will get through this. She is fiercely independent so that will hold her in good stead during recovery.

The surgery she will have then is not as complicated as a hip replacement (I've had a hip replacement). The therapy afterward, is just as involved as a hip replacement and just as important. I have followed a neighbour through what your mother is having done and the followup therapy. She did need a raised toilet seat and a walker afterwards for several months. She went regularly to physiotherapy. The assistive devices needed for this type of surgery are pretty much the same as with hip replacement as is the therapy.

It sounds like she is in good shape going in so will probably do well and be back to her regular self in a matter of months. It is hard to tell how many months. That depends on a number of variables but, having watched my neighbour through the same thing, she will be fine.

Hawthorne wrote:The surgery she will have then is not as complicated as a hip replacement (I've had a hip replacement). The therapy afterward, is just as involved as a hip replacement and just as important. I have followed a neighbour through what your mother is having done and the followup therapy. She did need a raised toilet seat and a walker afterwards for several months. She went regularly to physiotherapy. The assistive devices needed for this type of surgery are pretty much the same as with hip replacement as is the therapy.

It sounds like she is in good shape going in so will probably do well and be back to her regular self in a matter of months. It is hard to tell how many months. That depends on a number of variables but, having watched my neighbour through the same thing, she will be fine.

I found a place local to me that sells assistive devices... walkers, raised toilet seats, etc. I am going there today to have a look. I'd like her to have a walker with the wheels, brakes, basket and a seat so when the time comes she can get outside. I don't know what they will provide... perhaps nothing... perhaps a standard issue walker.

To get started I'm prepared to purchase the walker and raised toilet set down here and take them up. There are no stores up there for these types of devices, although they might be available through the hospital physical therapy department.

Is there much pain during recovery? Were you able to get in/out of bed unassisted in the early days?

Sorry that it turned out to actually be a broken hip. It appears that she is in good hands and a plan of action is in place. Thanks for keeping us informed. You can be assured that you have a whole host of "forum friends" pulling for her.

Some places rent this equipment. I had a portable raised toilet seat, since I use it when my RA is in a flare and the knees are bad. I'm quite tall and most toilet seats are quite low and least them seem that way since I got RA!

I rented the walker for 6 weeks. It was basic. No wheels, breaks, basket or seat! I was much younger than your mother when I had my hip replaced so I didn't need one with all the bells and whistles because I would not be using it indefinitely. I just needed to be able to walk putting "feather weight" on the hip for a number of weeks. They instruct how to do that. She will need a cane to use when she is finished with the time on the walker as well.

My neighbour, who had the same surgery as your mother will have, is in your mother's age bracket. She bought a walker with all bells and whistles and she still uses it from time to time.

They get you out of bed within a day or so after surgery and have you on a walker. The therapy is somewhat painful at first but, with feather weight on the walking there is not a lot of pain with walking with a walker. The sooner she is up walking with a walker the better!! Recovery will be easier and faster relatively, if this happens.

I had a pain pump beside my hospital bed with prescribed doses of morphine. If she has that she can take care of it herself. There is no risk of overdose, since the pump is set at a controlled amount for spaced periods of time. I only used that for a ccouple of days early on when the therapy hurt! Then I went to Tylenol.

It seems like a long time when you are going through it but is usually is not that long and the pain becomes manageable very quickly in most cases.

I'm sure you mom will get along very well!

Paul56, Sorry to hear about your mother. I hope she heals well & quickly. I have rhumetoid arthritis & I have had a total hip replacement. You might want to buy a bedside potty/with handles to help her up & down, without having to do alot of walking to start off. Also, I would clear with her in hospital physical therapists on what kind of equipment she will need. You might buy something that the PT doesn't feel will be helpful. I also had a morphine pump for 4 days & you CAN'T overdose because it will only disperse a certain amount of medicine. After the pump was taken, I was on Tylenol 3 for about 3 weeks. Again good luck!

They felt her blood was a little too thin to proceed today due to the baby aspirin she takes daily.

So they gave her something to thicken the blood up and will proceed with the surgery tomorrow morning.

I hope they have her up moving around a little by tomorrow afternoon. I suppose it still really has not been that long given this only happened yesterday at 3pm.