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sophiacharm Asked December 2014

After six weeks of rehab in a nursing facility, Mom is still unable to walk or even stand. Any advice?

My mom fell and broke her hip in October. The x-rays today show that the bone is still not fully healed, and the surgeon says it could take up to one year. Of all the people who break a hip and have surgery, one third will die within one year (he says mom is not one of them); and of the two thirds left, one third who was fully functioning prior to the break will need a walker; and the other third, who was walker dependent, will now rely on wheelchair. My mother falls into the wheelchair category. She needs 75% assistance for everything; needs two people to help her transfer with a Hoyer Life. I am losing faith that she will be able to return to her baseline prior to the fall, which was using a walker. She had mobility issues prior to the fall because of a brain aneurysm that ruptured 20+ years ago and left her with disabilities. I am concerned we are on the downward path now. What can I expect at this point in her recovery (or lack thereof). The PT and OT folks at the nursing center said that she hasn't made any progress so Medicare would not continue to pay for PT OT there, but she will receive PT in the ALF. Any suggestions to help us cope would be beneficial. Thanks!

notrydoyoda Dec 2014
My mother went to a nursing home for rehab after hip surgery, but did not work with the PT people and never walked again. I'm sorry to hear about your not being able to stand or walk. I wish both of you the best.

Eyerishlass Dec 2014
Once there's an event that causes an elderly person to have to start using a wheelchair they don't usually get better. I'm not saying it can't happen but once someone is in a wheelchair their legs grow weaker from not being used which perpetuates the need for a wheelchair. I think your mom would fall into this category especially since that hip hasn't healed all the way.

The PT she will get in her ALF won't get her out of the wheelchair as PT won't help heal her hip.

But it's very important that she not give up. You don't have to tell her that this is it, she's in the wheelchair forever. Give her encouragement to do the PT exercises and to do them on her own as well.

This is just another stage in the aging process. A new normal that you and she have to get used to. Will she be able to stay in the ALF if she's in a wheelchair?

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