How do I properly help my aunt after a fall leaves her weakened?

The woman is 93 years old, took a fall where she laid on the floor for 8 hours alone, and you're both acknowledging she's 'speaking a little slower than normal.' Why has she not been to the ER yet, that's my question?????

Part of her new care regimen is that she no longer be left alone in her condition w/o a caregiver to look after her while you are at work, that's my suggestion. Needing help getting up and requiring a walker to get around indicates a need for more help than you realize!

Good luck.

Please call 911. Don't wait for her to agree. The fall may have been CAUSED by a heart attack, stroke or broken bone.

If she is her right mind, as you say, how was she not able to get help for 8 hours?

An older lady of my acquaintance fell in her apartment and lay there for 3 days. When the police broke in (her neighbors grew suspicious that her newspapers were piling up) she didn't want to go to the hospital, didn't want an ambulance, no fuss please.

She finally said "well can't I just take a cab to Lenox Hill Hospital?". The police, neighbors and step-child all replied in unison "NO"!

She spent several days in a Cardiac Care Unit (she'd had a heart attack which likely caused the fall.) She spent 3 months in rehab.

Hope you've gotten her into care.

I’m an EMT. Get her to doctor ASAP. You don’t know the cause of the fall nor do you know why her speech is slower. Could be dehydration, head injury, stroke, etc. She needs to be checked out. Since she has a history of falls, she should no longer be left alone for her own safety. Check with your local free area Agency on Aging for resources.

I completely agree with the recommendation to get medical help AND evaluation.   There's no way to determine what internal injuries she may have sustained, or if she "had a minor stroke or something" without medical help, especially since she's speaking more slowly.   To me that seems like a red flag.

Forget about convincing her; call privately if you have to and explain that you don't want her to know you called.   Make up a story:  a neighbor heard something, wondered where you were and if your mother was okay...something reasonably realistic.  

Or ask a neighbor to call for you, explaining your mother doesn't want to go but she absolutely needs to.   The neighbor can ask for a wellness check, saying she heard your aunt cry out, or something realistic that can't be challenged.

PLEASE:   DO IT NOW!

And start researching Life Alert systems.   I researched, contacted suppliers and decided on one which also provided alarm systems.  It was one of the best decisions I made.   Dad had only to bend over and they called to determine if he needed assistance.

After one fall, it didn't occur to me to call them b/c Dad had called me and I called EMS on my way out to  his house, but they called.  I didn't think to check his caller ID before EMS came, and honestly hadn't yet become accustomed to relying on the service.  The service called 14 !! times while we were in the ER.

We also had purchased a lock box for his house.  A friend installed it, directly in the studs next to the door.  We opted for that instead of a lock that hangs over the door b/c a friend told us the lock could be sawed off.   I thought there wouldn't be enough room for that, so I tried and was able to get a saw between the prongs of the lock.   So I bought one that needs to be screwed into the studs next to the door.

If you don't have a medical history for your aunt, I'd prepare one ASAP.  If this happens again, EMS would need to have information included in a medical history, including your contact numbers, Medicare number, medical history and a lot more.

My DH Aunt broke her ankle and can't tell you how. (slight Dementia) Said she was walking and it just broke. She has had arthritis for years.

My GF fell last year. Still having problem with one leg...she broke a hip. Just had surgery.

Slow speech is sign of a stroke, could be the reason for her fall.

My mom has starting falling (she calls it slumping, but the end result is she's blacking out and waking up on the floor).

Personally, I think she needs to be evaluated every time she falls, as she does 'faint' and is unconscious for some length of time with each fall. And she seems much more addled afterwards for several days.

She lives with YB and he is an EMT, so somewhat qualified to assess her, but I can see how easily he could miss a fracture or brain bleed. He doesn't have x-ray vision, for crying out loud.

I can't force her to do ANYTHING, so I simply state my concerns and walk away. One of these days she WILL break something and that will start a whole new life for her. Yes, I GET that she doesn't want to go to the Dr or the ER---but she did ask me to ask my Dr. SIL to 'run by after work' and look her over. I said that was a hard NO! as he is crazy overworked as it is. And he would send her to the ER, so I said "cut the middle man, just go!".

Her long time doctor just died of ALS, very sad, but she has made no moves to get a new dr and she needs to. YS did a lot of research and found her a geriatrician close by her house who would do 'pop in' visits--and YB told her he didn't want a new dr. So she is dr-less at the moment. AND has a ton of health issues.

I know that her deep down fear is that if she falls and really hurts herself, she will go to the hospital and never come home again---if she ever becomes wheelchair bound she cannot live at home any longer.

She should deffiently be checked out now by a Dr.
She could have another stroke and she could have a hair line fracture in her Hip or Pelvis like my sister that fell and didn't want to go to the Dr then she fell again a few months later and want able to get up, stand or walk with a walker so an ambulance had to take her to the Hospital and she had multiple fractures in her Pelvis.
When you have a broken hip, you can be bleeding internally.

Honestly, I’d call 911. If you weren’t there when she fell, you can’t tell if she had a concussion.

Did you take her to the ER?
It may have been a stroke.
She is probably quite dehydrated after being 8 hours with no food or water.
If you are caring for her a trip to the ER would be a non negotiable trip