Suicide.

Whether is was an attempted suicide depends on her mental condition. If she did this on purpose and is in a 'sound state of mind' - then maybe. If she has ALZ or dementia - probably not. Be sure to contact her physician and take her to see him/her. She needs to be evaluated. I am sorry to hear you are dealing with something so stressful. Take care of yourself and get help.

Forgive that 'sound state of mind' - that was wrong. People who try to purposely try to hurt themselves are in a lot of pain - emotional or physical - not necessarily in a sound state of mind. I don't think I know how to say this properly. But she may not have done it on purpose - then again, she may have. She needs to see a professional. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Dear LindaGS,
You did not say what your Mom's primary illness is. Or maybe you did in the past and I did not read it. Nevertheless, get her to see a geriatric physician and/ or geriatric psychiatrist right away!!! Whether or not she did it on purpose doesn't matter just yet, the fact remains that she did something terrible to endanger her life, so something must be wrong with her brain and her thinking processes. Does she have dementia? Does she have end of life issues or something very serious going on physically? No matter---get her to the doctors immediately!!!!

Lefaucon said it MUCH better than I did. Yes, get mom evaluated and find out what's wrong.

She is stage 7 Alzheimers.

She most likely had no idea that she was walking into traffic... so it is about making sure all doors and windows are locked at all times so that she does not have access to the outside... I know you know this already... and I'm sorry she got away from you...
Are you in a situation where you can place her in situation where she would be safe and you would be confident she was getting good care... I pray that you can... please let us know what all is going on..... sending you lots of hugs...

LindaGS, my heart goes out to you and all of those on this site who are dealing with Alzheimers and other Dementias. Keep safe - both YOU and your mom. I don't think I could ever do what you do unless it was my husband or child. I applaud you all.

I posted a long time ago about how we used to joke a lot as we took care of Grandma that when our time came a quart of tequila ,a barcalounger and an iceberg raft sounds just about right. Let us go and let it be kinda fun. I asked her about some things this week and her response was pretty discouraged. In the grandma days she said that her toughest realization was-- when suicide was your wish you would not have the strength to get to the ocean or to climb the stairs to the roof to jump. No one was going to help you and you would not be able to carry it out. This incident made me realize that she is smart enough though she is GAGA to create her reality.

So I guess I am saying that in one way it is evidence she STILL has a sound mind.

I know some wiley folks elope from locked facilities too.

Linda, I don't know what stage my mom was with Alzh. But, most of the times, she wasn't "lucid" or "all there in the head." But, once in a while, her mind clears and she can look you in the eyes with intelligence (not dullness). Twice, at this stage, mom tried to kill herself by hanging herself on the clothesline. Both times, father found her dangling....and this was INSIDE the house! We live in a tropical island. When it's rainy seasons, we hang our clothes inside. So, she used the indoor clothesline to try to kill herself. Poor mom. Best to "dementia-proof" the inside of your home, too - just in case...

thanks book worm....