elderly mother fell down stairs

[pelmetman]

My mother who is 86 fell down the stairs last night and was rushed to hospital.

She has completely smashed her humerus which is the long bone from her shoulder down to her elbow. Its early days yet but looks like she will be in hospital for a few days then transferred to a respite centre as she will not be able to do anything at all for some time.

I was just wondering if anyone has known of this type of injury and how long it is likely to take for her to recover.

Sue

[red]

oh poor thing - hope she recovers soon.

no real experience to offer I'm afraid. is she on warfarin or the like? that could lead to other problems

[Davie Crockett]

Really sorry to hear of your Mums fall!.....I'm an Emergency Care Practitioner, this sort of injury will take at least 6 weeks to 2 months for the bones to fuse and then physio afterwards to regain muscle tone. The hospital will usually discharge into respite for 2 weeks then controlled home care (3 or 4 daily visits by welfare staff)

[niknik]

sorry about your mum.here´s wishing hewr a speedy recovery

[spider8]

So sorry to hear about your mum. Hope she mends quickly and all goes well

[Green Aura]

Sorry to hear about your Mum.

How long she takes to recover depends on several factors
- the type of fracture
- how they treat it
- her general health prior to the fall

If she's had any injuries in the past it might give you some idea of her healing ability. As Davie Crockett said 6-12 weeks seems about right, but of course at the age of 86 it can be very stressful.

My best wishes to her for a good recovery.

[becks77]

So sorry to hear of the fall. Sending best wishes for a speedy recovery

[MuddyWitch]

Just wanted to add my best for your Mum

MW

[Thomzo]

I'm really sorry to hear about her fall. My gran broke her wrist and I'm afraid it does take a long time to heal at that age. The important thing is not to get too stressed about how long it's taking, just be patient.

Keep a good eye on her, my gran also suffered side effects from the pain killers. Loss of memory was the main one and it had serious long term implications for her. Unlike your mum, my gran was sent home almost straight away and she didn't get any carers or assistance so struggled to feed and care for herself properly. So it's important that she gets the right care and she's lucky to have you to look out for her.

Zoe

[darkbrowneggs]

So sorry to hear about your Mums fall, It sounds horrible.

Hope she makes a good recovery. Homoeopathic Arnica can sometimes help if you approve of non-scientific treatments. Ainsworths of London are good reliable suppliers.

all the best
Sue

[Mrs H]

So sorry to here this. Sending u all lots of love n hugs and wishing ur mum a speedy recovery. Xxx

[Millymollymandy]

Sorry to hear this - your poor mum. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

[southeast-isher]

Sorry to hear about this Pelmetman. My Nan is the same age though had been falling for a few years now but it has got to the point now where she has no mobility at all. When she first started falling we put handrails up so she could get upstairs. Then eventually we moved her downstairs. A while later when she fell the hospital referred her to occupational therapy and she now has a hoist to get her in and out of bed.

[pelmetman]

Thank you all for your kind and encouraging words.

Mum is a lot brighter and will stay in hospital until a suitable respite home is found for her where she will stay for about two weeks then hopefully come home.

She was staying at my sisters when it happened as she was unwell suffering with a urine infection. Unbeknown to us often when the elderly get this type of infection and on abs it can make them very confused and unsteady hence why she fell.

Luckily she lives in a bungalow and is usually very fit for her age so we are hoping for a good recovery.

Sue

[snapdragon]

All best wishes for a speedy recovery PelmetMum