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I'm in shock! What if my son falls!

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He indeed should have been fitted for a Helmet before he left the hospital. Make sure they are having him wear it.
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GA, Good Idea. I do know of several patients who have had to wear helmets because they have had surgery on their brain and their skull bone is open. Problem is that it is rather uncomfortable (depending on the type and size of helmet) to lie on your side or back while wearing a helmet. You almost need a pillow with a hole or indentation in the center so that the helmet can lay in it and the cheek of a person's face can lie on the pillow.
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My Mom is a fall risk too. No retrains or rails allowed. Good luck with the rail issue, and they might be concerned about getting his head stuck between the rails. Is he in a condition that he understands any “rules” about protecting his head, or is he incapacitated and you depend on the staff to protect him? Either way, make sure he has fall mats on both sides of the bed, the bed is lowered as close to the floor as possible, and that no furniture or wheelchair is left near the bed. Also have them pad all sharp corners like air conditioner unit. The foot of Moms bed is raised slightly and pillows are placed around her to make it harder for her to get out of bed, and her round call bell disk is placed so she would roll onto it and activate it of she swung her legs out. She still manages to be found on the floor mat. The other day they found her when she was calling out for someone to bring her a pillow. On the floor mat. In many cases the best we can do is try to mitigate any injury when they fall.
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I'm not a medical person so this might not be realistic, but I'm wondering if there are any protective helmets that could be worn?
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I just had my mom’s Care Planning meeting and the bed rail issue came up. The nurse coordinator said my mom uses the bed rail (it’s a small one) to help pull herself up when being assisted out of bed. I had to sign off for her to keep the bed rail.
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If bed rails are considered restraints then it usually they have to be worked up to or a direct order. In the nursing homes i worked at we could use a seat belt in wheel chairs . They technically could remove them themselves. ( ie not restraint ) maybe something like that could be made for the bed ..least til you get an order
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The "Resident has a right to fall" rule from Medicare and Medicaid. Stupid rule---they did this because dementia/elderly residents were slipping out of bed and getting their heads caught between the bed mattress and the side rail and accidently hanging themselves.

Ask for a "LOW BED" and place the bed against the wall (pad the wall with a mat or a body pillow) on one side with a pad/mattress on the floor next to the bed on the other side. A low bed is only 3-4 inches from the floor and the pad or mattress will help cushion your son if he falls out of bed.

Also, talk to the doctor who did the surgery and tell him of your concern about NO side rails. If the doctor orders that side rails are REQUIRED to keep your son SAFE because he has a tendency to lie close to that side of the bed and because he has NO bone flip on his skull, then the nursing home just might be willing to use side rails. I have worked in nursing homes and when we could show "JUST CAUSE" for side rails, then we were able to use them.

{We had a resident who would lay on his right side and then hang over the side of the bed. When we put side rails up, he leaned into the side rails. We put a body pillow between him and the side rail. So in this case, the side rail was approved because the resident used the side rail for positioning himself on his side.}

I would think that a open skull would be a good enough reason for side rails (but you never know.) Talk to the neurologist ASAP.
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Ah, no bed RAILS.  Yes, they are considered a restraint.  Does your son try to get out of bed?

Have you asked his doctor to write an order for bedrails to be used?
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