I moved back home on a career break to help my family with my grandma who is 88 and in decline and still living at home on her farm.
Its been a rough week this week I woke up Wednesday morning to find her on the kitchen floor in her Pjs not sure if she was still with us or not nor how long she had been there. It's an experience I never want to have again.
I cant help feeling like I missed something or should have seen something. I thought maybe would be good to find somewhere to talk to people who are in also caring for an elderly relative.
Have a family meeting and decide what to do. Will someone move in with Grandma? Does she need s walker? Does she have diagnosed dementia? Does she need to go to a facility and the farm be sold? Is the paperwork (DPOA) in order? Caregiving is a noble undertaking, but a plan still has to be in place and everyone needs to be on board with it.
The good news is that you found her in time, and hopefully you had her checked out if you didn't happen to know how Long she was down, as there are other things that need to be checked for, other than fractures, bumps and bruises.
For instance, if someone lays on the floor long enough, they might have hypothermia, or might get RHABDOMYOLYSIS, a muscle injury which can be caused by impingement, or laying on an arm or leg for an expended period of time, an if long enough can cause serious kidney damage. Then again, sometimes it's very difficult to get an elderly Loved one to agree to get checked out by the Medics, let alone see their Dr, so we do the best we can. When in doubt, call 911 to assist and to check them out.
Now would be a good time to have your local Area Agency on Aging to come out and do an assessment on your Grandmother, to see what Social Services she might qualify for.