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She fell at the hospital and broke her hip.
My brother and I are looking into long term care and the doctors are running around with their hands over their mouths for fear of saying something we might sue them over, I guess.
It's a good hospital, shit happens.
Hugs,
Joyce (Erin)
Comments
Oh no!
I am so sorry to hear your news. All I can do is wish you well and hope that things work out in the long run. Wish I could help.
thinking of you.
Angharad.
Angharad
This is a hard thing...
to deal with, I know. Fragile bodies becoming ever more fragile.
Hoping for all the best for you and your mom;
Hugs
Jan
I'm sorry to hear that, Erin.
I'll cross my fingers and hope that she gets into a nice place.
Jodie
xoxo
Poor Erin, poor Erin's mom
Historically when an elderly person breaks their hip that often means confinment to a wheelchair.
They do have better therapies and drugs to encourage bone regrowth so I hope for the best but I fear the worst. I imagine it all depends on where and how severe the break is and your mom's overall health. I agree with others here, this is getting well beyond the point where you can care for her. Do your best for her but don't hurt your own health as a result.
Rejoyce in that you still have her, even reduced from what she once was. Mom is always mom annd is to be treasured.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
My sympathies
We've recently gone through the same thing here, Erin. You are in my thoughts.
Scott
Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.
-- Moliere
Bree
The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph
Doctors called
They want to do hip replacement surgery -- Wednesday. My brother and I are discussing, I'm on the way to see Mom before she goes to sleep tonight.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Hope they are picking up the tab
Really sorry to hear about your mom getting hurt. I hope the hospital does the right thing by her and picks up the tab to fix the hip that broke in their care...
Huggles!!
Alexis
I wish for you to have the best possible result
in your trying time.Amy
Megalomania...
Oh God Erin, an awful turn of events. I would pray for your mom, but I prayed last time and then this happened! So this time I'll content myself with just hoping her hip does mend, and that you, she and your brother will get through this okay. I admire your sense of perspective about the fact that this happened while she was under their care. I think a person who doesn't immediately assume that it HAS to be someone's fault if something bad happens to them is happier in the long run...
~~~peace, LAIKA
What borders on stupidity?
Canada and Mexico.
.
Shit happens?
My goodness!
I do hope they can sort it and if they can discount it because it happened in their hospital in the first place, so much the better.
Of course, it would have been nice if it hadn't happened at all.
My thoughts for a swift recovery.
Hugs
Nick
I hope this replacement is the best quality of life option
My uncle had a double hip replacement well into his seventies due to trama suffered decades before. It took two years before he was fully back up to speed but he wasn't the best about doing his therapy. It is solid decade later and though age is slowing him a lot, he is doing well. But then he can still drive compitently and is mentally sharp as is my aunt.
Given what I know of you experences with your lost love, you are very familiar with hospitals. Whether or not they can do the operation is not what counts. The question to ask is, will mom better better off? There will be a recovery period and therapy. As it is hopefully -- sorry word-o-philes - on the hospital's dime, cost is not an issue. Even if it was, the quality of life is the number one consideration.
If your mom is still of her right mind and generally healthy for her age, go for it. While they are at it see if they will throw in a few upgrades, accesories, an age reduction, body swap and such.
Now I'm getting confused with those magic and sci-fi stories here.
--grin --
Hope it made you smile, Erin.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
That's truly awful!
If it was my mother, I'd be furious at the hospital for allowing this to happen and trying to make them pay, but your attitude seems considerably healthier.
It's a life-changing event for sure. When the universe drops boulders in the river of your life, sometimes you are briefly diverted and then back to your original path, and sometimes you have to carve a whole new course.
Sort of expected
My mom's damn-the-torpedoes attitude to getting anywhere almost guaranteed a hip fracture for her sooner or later at her age. Where better to have it happen than the hospital?
We're discussing what to do now, just talked to the orthopedist.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Erin, I don't know
what the best possible outcome would be under such circumstances but I certainly am wishing that for you, your mom, and your brother. It's not much but it is all that I have.
Hugs,
Gwen
Gwen Lavyril
Gwen Lavyril
Operating at 4 p.m. PST
My brother will be flying in at about 11 a.m.
All good thoughts appreciated.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
All good wishes.
I hope and pray for the best possible outcome for you all.
look after yourself kiddo,
hugs,
Angharad.
Angharad
Best of British
Luck that is.
Hope all goes well.
Hugs all round
Nick
Good Thoughts
Erin
I have several friends who consider their hip replacements as the gateway to a new mobility. My medical knowledge is scanty, bordering upon negligible, but, as I understand it, the operation is a standard low risk procedure which vastly improves the quality of life.
Of course its benefits depend on other health factors. But in my limited experience I know of none that have not benefited immensely. It's simple and the only downside is that one has to be relatively quiet for a few weeks.
Mobility is so important. Your medical advisers will know what is best in your mum's circumstances. But generally the op. itself seems fairly straightforward.
Best wishes to your Mum.
Hugs,
Fleurie
Mom
The operation is not so worrying as the recovery time. I simply cannot manage that here, so she's going to be in a skilled nursing facility for some weeks, perhaps as long as two or three months. I'm not sure how this will effect her mentally.
Her health is pretty good for someone 83 with metastatic cancer in the bones who's lost 25% of her body weight in a year. Really, no diabetes, no heart disease, no kidney problems. She's in good shape for the shape she's in. :)
Operations always have risks, so it is a worry. But I'm really thinking past the operation to the rehab and beyond. She still seems very confused, though being in the hospital probably counts for some of that.
Thanks to all for the best wishes and good thoughts. Heading over to the hospital soon.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
My Best Wishes For You & Your Mom Erin
I will pray that you both get better and recover.
Thinking of You,
BigCloset TopShelf
Finally
They took Mom into surgery at 5:40, after 2.5 hours of her begging for a drink of water. She even resorted to threatening the nurses with telling me. :)
I love my Mom, she's a dear person and I'm exhausted. Don and I will be going back to the hospital in a couple of hours.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Surgery went well
They only had to do a hemi-orthoplasty (less intrusive, less recovery time) and Mom was awake and being ornery an hour after getting out of recovery and except for the batteries in her hearing aid being dead, she was feeling fairly good.
Thanks for all good wishes, thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Glad
Good to hear it was minimally invasive. Less is more sometimes... especially as we get older. I hope everything stays positive.
Kristina
That sound good
When you mentioned the bone cancer, that in combination with the broken hip made my perverse imagination come to a nasty conclusion. I'm so glad I was wrong.
That they even considered the surgury must mean it is slow spreading or under control for now. Now for a speedy and sucessful recovery. Go Erin's mom!
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Mom
Mom was pretty out of it on pain-killers all day. They did get her vertical for a few moments but she couldn't stand on the leg, maybe tomorrow. Because of the drugs, she did not eat all day until I coaxed her to eats some pineapple, gelatin, mashed potatoes and gravy and grape juice tonight -- all told, about 12 ozs of nourishment. The nurse promised to try to get her to eat again in a couple of hours.
Tomorrow, Don and I need to make a decision about convalescent hospitals for her and we have five more to look at. This place is like Senior City and SNFs and CCCs are thick on the ground. They vary a lot, too. Mom's Medicare and insurance will cover up to 100 days and after that the Veterans and Medi-Cal (Medicaid) will step in for a lot of it if it goes on that long.
Tonight was pretty heartwrenching, she just didn't seem to be completely there until the last few minutes before Don and I left. When we kissed her good bye, she said, "Bless your heart, I love you."
If you can, hug your mom for me.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
SNF, CCC, M-O-U-S-E
Sorry, that danged *mouse* tune pops out of my head every once and awhile.
What is an SNF and a CCC?
SNF, that's the acronymn for the French National Railways and CCC is Civilian Conservation Corps, right?
Hang in there Erin.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Soup
Skilled Nursing Facility, Custodial Care Center.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.