My almost 90 year old mom has dementia and lived in assisted living for almost three years. Has anyone had this problem before?

When an older person has to go under anesthesia, it can do a horrible number on their brain, especially those with any of the dementias. It can make their dementia much worse. Some times they can eventually come out of it, and some times they never do. Her Dr. should have warned you about that. To me that sounds like exactly what's going on. I'm sorry that you weren't given a heads up about that. I wish you and your mom the best.

My mother came down with pneumonia, spent a week in the hospital, and then 3 weeks in a SNF for rehab. She went from a walker into a wheelchair full time due to neuropathy in her legs/feet and it was long overdue, frankly. She was suffering from dementia to begin with, then hospital delirium on top of it which was exacerbated by a Scopolamine patch she was given for chronic vertigo. So, she was seeing mice running along the floor which weren't there, of course, that's how bad she was.

She made a full recovery (she was 92 at the time this happened), is 94 now, and doing ok at the Memory Care AL she's was transferred to after the pneumonia incident. She had been living in the regular ALF bldg prior to that incident, but they would not take her back due to her decline after the hospital and rehab stay.

Just wanted to let you know that your mother's condition is not NECESSARILY permanent. It may be, but then again it may not be. It depends on a lot of things, I think. Prepare yourself for the possibility, however, that the ALF may not be willing to accept her back in her current condition...........the nurse normally comes by the SNF to do an evaluation to make that determination. If she doesn't improve enough to go back to her old ALF, she may have to stay in the SNF in their long term care section until and unless she improves. Just a head's up on that. My father was in that situation back in 2014 after breaking a hip and making the infamous 'no progress' in rehab, too. He recovered too, by the way.........so don't lose hope, ok? :)

Wishing you the best possible outcome here; I know how worrisome and stressful (and heartbreaking) all this is to witness & endure.

My mother was relatively intact cognitively before she required surgical treatment for a badly fractured hip.

After the surgery, everything collapsed.

We were told that it was likely because of the anesthetic and the length of time she was “under”.

A terrible tragedy for which there was no solution. I’m so sorry this has happened to you and your family.

Yes, I am currently going through this with my mom. She is soon to be 87. Fractured her hip, has healed but could not complete PT due to dementia which has worsened. She cannot walk, two person assist from chair to bed. Her primary had told me the night before her surgery that this was likely to be her outcome. Now she is in a SNF, in a puréed diet due to swallowing issues. I visit her often and she is very weepy. Cannot complete a sentence. It’s a nightmare! I wish I knew what her thoughts were.

Yes, this is pretty common when someone her age has a broken bone.

I hope that the rehabilitation center gave her time to recover from such a major bone break.

I had a dear friend that had the same break and she was never the same again. So prepare your heart for her to possibly never get any better and potentially fail to thrive.

I am sorry for your mom. What an awful situation to be in.

Strength and hugs to you both.

I shattered a bone after 40 and had a horrible surgery requiring titanium plates/screws. I had to have 6 weeks of PT. I was in pain the whole time. PT was horrible and I had to meet goals for my recovery for insurance to pay. I required a lot of pain killers and when my cast came off the pain got worse. Since I broke my non dominate hand. My brain had trouble sorting out the signals and I had trouble feeding/bathing and taking care of myself. I found myself getting depressed and not myself. If breaking a bone can do that to a healthy adult I can only imagine what your mom is feeling/experiencing. You might want to take her back to her PCP and have her talk to them about her noncompliance with her therapy. She might be experiencing some depression because she is not getting better. She can not heal like she used to. Recovery from a broken bone can take 6 months depending on the break. For two full years I had brain issues sorting out dominate and non dominate hand issues. When I finally started sorting theses issues out in my brain I started wanting to do hand work to keep my flexibility up. When I finally was able to again I found that my recovery was better. You might encourage her to get better by pointing out that the quicker she recovers the quicker she can get back to something fun. PT hurts and I did not want to do it but once you accept that you are going to be in pain for a reason it helps knowing that. I hope this has been helpful....... I Never want to break a bone ever again.