Last Saturday evening, Mom fell in her bedroom. She wasn't able to tell anyone if/where she hurt, so the ambulance staff put her on a backboard and stabilized her neck just in case. After a slew of tests, the medical staff determined that she wasn't injured, but they discovered she had a kidney infection and kept her for a few days to treat it with IV antibiotics. She was released on Tuesday, and within an hour of the release, fell again. She was extremely unstable and kept lurching into the wall as she walked. I had to support her every step of the way. As she got to the top of the stairs, she just stopped and could not go on. I had been right behind her, holding her up for each step, but I'm not strong enough to carry her up the stairs. At the top of the stairs she sank forward onto her knees and was not willing or able to get up. Once again the EMTs came it took four of them to get her to her room, and we determined that she needed to go back into care. Again, she was uninjured, but terribly weak, essentially unable to move at all.
She is now in a Rehab Center to regain strength/mobility and, while there, try to recapture some basic skills, such as talking and eating on her own. We expect her to be there for a couple of weeks, until she can come home safely.
The staff members at the rehab center are very nice, and wonderful with the patients. Wednesday when I visited her, the Speech Therapist was working with mom, who has a great deal of difficulty in communication with anyone. Later, the Occupational Therapist came in for her visit. Each day, Mom will have sessions with Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapists. Yesterday during my visit, the activity center had a pianist playing for the patients for an hour in the afternoon. Mom enjoyed the concert.
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