My grandmother recently fell and had a small fracture in her pelvis that was not caught until about a week later (only showed up on CT scan). She was then hospitalized, and was in a lot of pain for a while. Now, she is discharged into a nursing home for rehab, but due to the dementia, is refusing to participate in physical therapy. She is capable of walking, but without rehab, we have no idea what to do. Encouraging, explaining, reasoning has not worked. Any suggestions about dealing with dementia patients who are refusing physical therapy would be very appreciated.
A doctor may be able to help, if the physical therapists don't know how to handle it. If she refuses, totally, she won't be the first to do so. You want the best for her, so hopefully she will get more cooperative, but don't blame yourself is she continues to refuse. It's not her or you - it's the disease of dementia.
Take care,
Carol