Follow
Share
Find Care & Housing
Wow. Short of suggesting and reminding and reasoning, I think there is little you can do. We all fall. It's inevitable for seniors and it's not fragility so much as it is the balance centers in our brains. Eye problems also figure in all this a whole lot. Walkers of all kinds don't always help. Falls can be the beginning of the end as we age, and surely was for my own mom.

Keep things as safe as you can and hope for the best is about all I can advise. Sure wish you the best.
Helpful Answer (2)
Reply to AlvaDeer
Report

If mom is cognizant there is not much you can do but wait......
Now what you should do is ask her these questions (if the info is not already written down. )
If something should happen do you want :
CPR preformed?
Artificial Nutrition (feeding tube) and if so for how long?
Intubation? If so for how long?
And you might want to ask about planning her funeral.
You do mention in your profile (thank you for adding information) that mom has Alzheimer's / Dementia. If this is the case then she should not be living alone. And she will not "remember" to use the walker. She will fall eventually, falls will happen it does not matter if she has aides there 24/7, is in a care facility or you are standing at her side.

Unfortunately in a case like this sometimes you have to wait until a change is forced in some way or another.
Now if mom is not cognizant she should not be living alone. Either the aides need to be 24/7 or she needs to enter into a facility that will meet her care needs.
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Grandma1954
Report

Your profile seems to indicate you will be part of a family caregiving team that will attempt to keep her in her home. But as you can now see, this only works if the elder is cooperative and not a danger to themselves.

Your Mom's dementia/memory impairment prevents her from being convinced of anything, or remembering to use the Rollator. She is less and less able to use reason and logic in her everyday life. She is now a very high fall risk. Being frail as well, a likely trajectory may be she breaks a hip and then becomes bed-bound (plus has dementia). Then how will this impact the plan to keep her in her home?

My Aunt with advanced dementia got out of her bed and fell, breaking her hip. Even while in rehab she attempted to get out of bed. I was in the process of interviewing facilities for her when she mercifully passed in her sleep (100 yrs old). She had been living in her home (with her older sister) aided by 2 family caregivers. Becoming bed-bound caused us to re-evaluate that arrangement.

You certainly can choose to be her in-home caregiver, just suggesting you go into it with your eyes fully open. Because you seem to believe you can convince someone with dementia to do something that is good for them, it indicates you may need to understand dementia better. I learned a lot from Teepa Snow videos on YouTube.
Helpful Answer (1)
Reply to Geaton777
Report

Maybe try a regular walker. You can get "skis" to put on the back two legs so the walker glides across the floor. Rollators should not be used by everyone. Maybe get her doctor to order an evaluation to see what type of walker is good for her.
Helpful Answer (0)
Reply to JoAnn29
Report

Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter