Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
S
sebring Asked June 2011

My 85-year-old father cracked his rib and refuses to go seek medical treatment. How do I get him to go to the doctor?

he is soo stubborn, he was doing hiway cleanup ( our lodge does this) and he fell. i wanted to take him to the doctor imediatly, but he wasnt going to miss his fathers day breakfast the next day, ok. after fathers day breakfast, he messed around the house, nothing to bad, until he decised to lift the hot tub cover. ok, long story short, today he is in pain. i can see it in his face, and hear it in his vioce. he still doesnt want to goto the doc.
please keep in mind, his mind is still pretty much working, but he still thinks hes superman.he volunteers for bingo tomorow, while he says its not hard, im not so sure. what health problem can come from this? maybe if i can show him a website that will say, i can get him to go. my problem is its hard for me to tell when he needs to go and when he really is ok. i know theres not much they can do for a cracked rib, but thats not why im worried. im worried he may hurt himself worse doing daily things. he loves volunteering for the lodge, i belive it keeps him young, but come on, hes still 85! he agrees with me no more hiway clean up, but im kind of worried about bingo tomorow.thanks

sebring Jun 2011
i finally got him to go to the doc, lilliput is absolutly correct, thats the same thing the doc said about pneumonia, he must take a deep breath every 3 or so hours because pneumonia may set in.
he has 2 bruised ribs, and is not allowed to lift anything. and yes, he is a tough guy, almost too tough.
i got him to go by saying he either sees a doc today or no bingo tomorow and ill nag him to death until he picks one. now, im not one to nag, but i can turn into super nag if i need to be..lol.so when i called his usual doc, the nurse said get him to hospitol now he may have internal bleeding, that was it, we were on our way...he got xrays and a otherwise clean bill of health, so yay!
thanks for your replys, i always come here when i have questiosns about him..

Jaye Jun 2011
I would be concerned that his breathing could be compromised and also the pain is NOT good. Does he have other health issues? Please encourage him to just get it looked at. take care...

ADVERTISEMENT


toadballet1 Jun 2011
Cracked ribs are really painful, so he must be a tough guy. Some men think that they should just "power through" illness.
You are right, you cannot do too much for the ribs. He still should see a doc and get an xray. Do not wrap them. The main danger is from pneumonia...because it is painful to get a deep breath into the lungs. My Mom's doc gave her one of those little plastic breathing gadgets that you breath into to expand the lungs.
He should not be lifting or doing anything too strenuous until his side heals. He could make it much worse.
As far as convincing him....that is the million dollar question...can you scare him with a possible hospitalization or rehab stay?
Good luck

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter