My mom (84) fell and broke her kneecap. It took the EMS and local firefighters to get her out of the house and into an ambulance. After 1 day in the hospital she began having hallucinations that were pleasant sometimes, and quite terrifying at others. After 2 days of hallucinations, they stopped. She did not have a UTI. She was released to home with a knee immobilizer. When she had to have her ortho appt. an ambulance service was called, but did not take her to the appointment, but turned around halfway there and took her to the ER. She was in a , what I would describe as an catatonic state. She had her eyes open but did not respond to any commands or pain (sternum rub, pinches, etc). She did "awake" after 2 days and began the hallucinations yet again. She was transferred after a few days to rehab, where she had one day of hallucinations/delusions on the 2nd day there. Is this "normal" for dementia patients? She had been on Haldol but it was discontinued after a terrible tremor reaction. She now is on Seroquil and I worry about her homecoming (to my house) in 4 days. Any thoughts? Thanks!
What happens with the patients they find themselves in a room they don't recognize, faces they don't know, noise in the hallways that sound scary, different smells, the lights or sunshine don't seem the same. They panic.
That happened to my Mom [98] when she fell and went to the ER, while in bed all of the sudden she was kicking like she was riding a bike, as fast as she could, then she started to reach up to the ceiling with her arms... and kept saying she was falling over and over again. After getting some meds to calm her, she settled down.
Once Mom was moved to another room where she shared a room [she and another patient needed a hospital "sitter" to watch them over night], Mom had the delirium once again.
Same happened when she was moved to a rehab facility, and later moved to long-term-care. It is so very difficult to see our parent that way, and we feel helpless as we can't do anything for them.
Thanks so much for reading & commenting! janet