Frequent falls does not necessarily mean your mom has less than a year to live. My mother-in-law is 94 lives in assisted living and falls all the time (we have been getting reports of her falling for 2 years now). I am not sure how old your mother is - but many times people will take a family member in and think they only have less than a year and they live much longer.
I have seen it many, many times. My mom is 93; my mother-in-law is 94 - we never thought they would live this long. When I was touring assisted living facilities - there were residents that were over 100. No kidding.
Unless your mother has a terminal disease - she could live longer than you expect. Another friend of mine took care of her 88 year old mother with dementia for 4 years, than moved her to assisted living. Recently she was contacted by the ASF that they can no longer care for her. Her mom now lives in a nursing home. The poor woman wears diapers, cannot walk, talk or feed herself. She has no idea who her children are, its very sad.
Unfortunately people can hang on for a very long time. You said "you know it will take everything out of us" Why would you want that?
Carol, great idea about getting your home checked to be sure it is elder friendly. Will your Mom have her own separate bathroom? Why I ask, there will come a time where you might need to change the toilet to a higher one plus put raise bars around the seat so that your Mom can lift herself up from the toilet. Other grab bars will be recommended around the bathroom.
The walk-in tubs are nice, especially if you plan to remain in the house for many years yourself, otherwise when the time comes to sell, the Realtor might suggest the tub be replaced with a regular tub, unless you already live in a 55+ community. Actually a walk-in shower is much better as everyone of all ages like those :)
Does your Mom use a walker? Are the bathrooms large enough to wheel in a walker? Are the hallways wide enough. You would need to take away all the throw rugs as walkers get hung up on those, or Mom could trip on them if she prefers to wall and furniture walk.
Doreen above is correct, falling doesn't mean a shorter life unless the fall itself becomes serious.... my Dad [94] has been falling for the past 8 years and he is still doing fine. Sometimes as one gets older, a knee will start giving out.
Any pets in the house? Life can get complicated with a person with Alzheimer's and having a pet. Our parents can trip on pets. Or a pet could become frighten by someone with memory issues. My cats use to be friendly around my parents until my parents both started to use canes... the sound of the canes on the wood floors scared the cats, so they hid :(
My thought on the walk in tubs? They sound great - you step in, close the door & sit until the tub fills up. aahhhhhh...When you're finished, you sit there while it drains...while you're wet...and unless the bathroom is incredibly warm, I imagine one could get chilled. No, I would recommend a no barrier shower (no lip/threshold, so can wheel in a shower chair if necessary). For a quick fix there are companies that can cut out a step through into the side of your tub. Yes, it renders the tub "useless", but it's a cost effective alternative as long as the person can step over a lower threshold...
Frequent falls does not necessarily mean your mom has less than a year to live. My mother-in-law is 94 lives in assisted living and falls all the time (we have been getting reports of her falling for 2 years now). I am not sure how old your mother is - but many times people will take a family member in and think they only have less than a year and they live much longer.
I have seen it many, many times. My mom is 93; my mother-in-law is 94 - we never thought they would live this long. When I was touring assisted living facilities - there were residents that were over 100. No kidding.
Unless your mother has a terminal disease - she could live longer than you expect. Another friend of mine took care of her 88 year old mother with dementia for 4 years, than moved her to assisted living. Recently she was contacted by the ASF that they can no longer care for her. Her mom now lives in a nursing home. The poor woman wears diapers, cannot walk, talk or feed herself. She has no idea who her children are, its very sad.
Unfortunately people can hang on for a very long time. You said "you know it will take everything out of us" Why would you want that?
Take care
The walk-in tubs are nice, especially if you plan to remain in the house for many years yourself, otherwise when the time comes to sell, the Realtor might suggest the tub be replaced with a regular tub, unless you already live in a 55+ community. Actually a walk-in shower is much better as everyone of all ages like those :)
Does your Mom use a walker? Are the bathrooms large enough to wheel in a walker? Are the hallways wide enough. You would need to take away all the throw rugs as walkers get hung up on those, or Mom could trip on them if she prefers to wall and furniture walk.
Doreen above is correct, falling doesn't mean a shorter life unless the fall itself becomes serious.... my Dad [94] has been falling for the past 8 years and he is still doing fine. Sometimes as one gets older, a knee will start giving out.
Any pets in the house? Life can get complicated with a person with Alzheimer's and having a pet. Our parents can trip on pets. Or a pet could become frighten by someone with memory issues. My cats use to be friendly around my parents until my parents both started to use canes... the sound of the canes on the wood floors scared the cats, so they hid :(