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Mom had a hairline fracutre of 3 ribs a few months ago. She has now either reinjured the old frature or this is a new one. Her doc sends her to the emergency room. The docs there give her meds and send her home in pain. She cannot get around without help at home. And unless she has a 3-night hospital stay she cannot receive in-home or rehab services.
Can someone please tell me where she should be now? Should her doc be admitting her to the hospital? I have contacted a rehab facility - but I do not know if she will be elegible. This seems more medical to me. I am so CONFUSED. Please shed some light on this chaos for me. thanks!!!!!

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OH poor thing. Fractured ribs can cause pain later on too . I know from when my hsuband did it . Weeks after we went back to the ER in severe pain and it was spasms. I think you need to speak up, insist she get help, you are her advocate and you have to become a pain in the you know what for your Mom. We who speak up get results and maybe we arent liked as much, but we do it for love. Call the doctor or ER, insist on help or admittance. I am so sorry. She needs pain meds, or a rehab place to go , etc. Medical daycares do physical therapy too but I dont think you want that right now. good luck
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I sure wish your hospital had a medicalist so that her doctor could be bypassed. Your mom really needs 3 nights in the hospital for her ribs and overall evaluation plus building up her strength in order to send her to 20 days of free rehab paid for 100% by medicare if ordered by a doctor at the end of which an evaluation can be made at to if she can safely still live at home. Even home health care requires a certain level of the elderly person being able to function on their own. If that is not possible, then it is now the time when it is not safe for her alone. You really need a medical professional to make such a determination and to communicate the evaluation, whatever it is directly to your mother and not via yourself. I'd call for an ambulance to take her to ER given her age and how fragile I imagine she must be plus to avoid any risk involved in your taking her to the ER.
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Thank you both for your input. Pain is something that docs seem to ignore when treating a patient. If they cannot "cure" it right away then it just does not exist. Mom has been in the ER with severe pain and they took forever to give her something for it. (ever try to ask an ER nurse to do anything? they give you that, "we'll get to you when we get to you stare."
Crow: an update: I did get Mom evaluated by a doc at the rehab center (why did someone not tell me that this was available). He gave her a series of short tests and said that she was eligible for in-patient rehab. She has now been there a week. And I am so grateful because she is showing progress and the pain is subsiding. I think she will also be eligible for in-home PT. (btw, when she was in severe pain, the EMTs did not take great care with her even when I told them that she had pain in her shoulder. They just picked her up and placed her on the gurney and she was in sooo much pain...next time, I am driving her there.)
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Thanks for the update!

If the doctor orders IH PT, which he should, then Medicare will pay for most of it. I hope he orders some home health care for her also just to keep an eye on her for a bit. An extra set of eyes, who are more objective, can be very helpful.
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Happy to hear the update. For my Mom, it would be confusing so glad to hear she is ok. I agree with driving to the ER yourself, so much less traumatic. I have yelled in the ER also, ya, I am a PITA when it comes to my moms care, and I dont care. Remember daycares have PT also, with lunch and activites!! Good luck
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