Mom is 85 and suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia. She broke her hip and three days ago she had surgery to fix it. She’s in the hospital and has been very combative pulling out her IVs and trying to pull out her catheter so they’ve had to give her Ativan a few times. The other issue is she has woken up a few times and drank water and some lemonade through a straw and we even have gotten her to swallow some of her pills the problem is she will not open her eyes when she is talking to us. Her voice sounds different as well. They haven’t been able to get her up and out of bed and on a walker, which is a great concern. We wanted her to go to a rehab facility but how can we go anywhere if she won’t open her eyes and sit up. She’s also not eating anything. This is very frustrating. Does anyone else have any similar experiences with their loved ones who have dementia and went through hip surgery. I’d love to know what the recovery was like for them and if anyone has had any similar issues with keeping their eyes closed, I sincerely appreciate any and all responses.
My Mom too closed her eyes and would not open them. She also would not get out of bed. When she could no longer swallow, I had Hospice called in. She passed a week later, she was 89. You need to talk to the doctor who is seeing Mom and ask if he sees her improving. If not, the hospital maybe able to put her under "comfort care".
My Mom also had times she would close her eyes for a while. At these times she talked normal. I could have a regular conversation with her. It was dicussed here when I mentioned it to the forum maybe it was an audio/visual thing. The outside world can be very confusing to someone with Dementia and closing their eyes blocks that out.
I agree that the anesthesia may have caused "hospital delirium", which even seniors without dementia may experience after surgery (most of the time is goes away if they don't have dementia). Or, she should be checked for a UTI or dehydration (if she's pulling out her IV).
My 100-yr old Aunt with AD got out of bed and broke her hip high up by the ball. As her MPoA I decided against surgery and had a plan to get her to be able to pivot on that leg through work with PT. But she kept trying to get out of bed in the rehab facility. She also wouldn't keep any IV or catheter in. Her local relatives went there daily for hours every day making sure she ate and drank and had her hygiene attended to, since a rehab facility is NOT a custodial facility like nursing home, SNF or AL/MC. She never stopped trying to escape her bed.
My Aunt thankfully passed away in her sleep within 2 weeks of the fall while still in rehab. We will never know the reason, but it spared her more years of dementia. She was very healthy in all other ways and could have gone on for a while. Her sister lived to 105.
My advice to you would be to start thinking about LTC or get her assessed for hospice. She will not recover her ability to walk since she won't cooperate with PT. Keep her calm and comfortable. This should be the goal for her now. I'm so sorry for this distressing turn of events. May you receive peace in your heart as you plan her future care.