What was the last emergency situation you were in?

@Confined ouch! Just a few years ago my wife likewise. Thankfully they were able to screw it back together and didn't have to do a hip replacement. But still an 8 week process.

@Heartlander Steel rod and screw sucks Took time to get back on my feet. My job demaned I return to work after 3 months....I was not ready but had to go back.

@Confined Big difference between screwing the pieces back Vs replacement. Neither of which are good experiences. As I recall, the first phase of rehab was about learning how to live without using that leg and hip. Relearning how to walk came much later. Before getting to that it was all about keeping pressure off that hip to allow it to heal.

@Heartlander They did PT but after a month they wanted me to wean myself off the walker.

@Heartlander Had an aunt who fell and broke her hip back in the 70’s. She was a bit heavy set and elderly and her doctor told her she’d probably never be able to walk again. But she did and over a year later she fell again and had the other hip replaced and she was walking good after that.

@Confined Wean yourself off the walker? That sounds like a setup for another broken hip.

@Heartlander Can not stay on a walker forever. I needed to strenthen my leg and the muscles. I had to go back to work eventually. I got off the walker a few weeks before I went back to work.

@cherokeepatti Great! For many, maybe most elderly though it's no going back. Add dementia to the broken hip, or some balancing issues, like with Parkinson's and even trying to walk again could end it all.

@Heartlander yes there are other factors. She was of sound mind and otherwise independent. I think she slipped on a bit of frost or ice on her front porch when she went out to pick up her newspaper in the mornings.

@Confined Understand. no additional falls during the transition?

@Heartlander None

@cherokeepatti It's a teeter-totter issue with people in the transition zone. On one hand they need to walk to regain strength and balance, on the other hand it puts them at further risk. One family member broke his hip, then on his first day at home in a wheelchair he tried to get up when no one was watching and fell again, rebreaking his hip. He didn't survive the second surgery.

@Heartlander oh that’s terrible. Well my great-aunt was told twice she’d never walk. She was more careful but the porch was painted and smooth so any amount of moisture on it was slippery. She was fully healed up when she fell the second time. But it was good that she got up eventually to walk and got herself moving again. If she hadn’t tried and just believed what the doctor told her she would have been in a wheelchair the rest of her life.

@Confined


GREAT! I'll keep you on my prayer list so you can continue to say that :)

I also belong to Lewy Body and Parkinson's caregiver Facebook groups and right below behavioral issues, falls are close to the top of the concern and worry list there. .

@cherokeepatti Her doc was likely being overly cautious based on his experience in other cases. Though maybe he/she could have delayed that assessment until he knew more. My thoughts are that it's a cognitivity issue.