Mom broke right ankle, right femur, and left ankle. Any advice about 24/7 bed care?

Your profile says “my mother is a stroke victim, alcoholic, memory impaired, and incontinent. She has home health care”. You don’t say how old she is.

Two broken ankles and a broken femur will take a long time to heal, and surely she will be bed bound for a long time. My BIL broke a leg in the late stages of cancer, and he never left the bed again. You are making preparations for her coming home, but how long is she expected to be bed bound? Does she have the finances to pay for 24/7 home care long term?

Was the accident alcohol related? How stable will she be when she has healed as much as possible? Will she be able to avoid another fall, particularly if she wants to return to drinking?

Most people in your position (at least with an elderly mother) would decide that this is the time for a NH. It might be worth looking at the options for if the return home proves to be too difficult. Good facilities can have a long waiting list.

Your intentions of care at home are loving & noble.

I'd suggest spending 24-48 hours rooming in at the NH (or spend 2 full days, depending on whatever visitor restrictions allow).

This will give you the opportunity to learn some tips from the staff re positioning, turning, clean-ups etc. To see what & how much will be involved.

Then you can gather what you need for home, equipment + set up home care aides - you will need respite break windows of time to run your own home/meals/bills/life.

Keep the skilled NH bed option open as long as you can (or ensure you can re-open it).

Remind yourself there is no shame at all in saying, No, I don't think this will work. Mother will need to stay.

I think it is unrealistic for you to consider taking this on. Beatty has an excellent idea about doing this as a practice run while mom is still in rehab. This way you know what you are getting into and can make an informed decision about if this is realistically something you can handle in your own home.

Is taking your mother to your home after rehab seriously your plan?

"No hoyer lift transfers until her femur heals"? What are you going to do?

From past posts, your mother is on Medicaid. Why isn't remaining in a SNF the plan post-rehab?

update 2: mom is home! Care is pretty much as normal, just a little more difficulty rolling in bed to get peri cares done/change briefs.

How on earth..?

Never mind. I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened - how doesn't really make much difference, unless she's likely God forbid to try that again!

I wouldn't buy anything or decide anything now. How many weeks is a few, and what's the plan for reviewing her progress/recovery?

Poor love, how is she?

Based solely upon what you’ve related, I’d stop buying things that you don’t really KNOW you’ll use that she’ll need, and devote a few hours to researching equipment, services, and extended care options that may or may not be useful.

Just managing toileting for a bed bound patient with NO recently broken bones is hard to plan for, and it may be completely new terrain after the pain of her injuries, the shock of treatments on the broken bones, and the initial incident.

Are you open to at least considering an “extended” stay in a care setting. Depending on the geographic area and the finances that you’re dealing with, that may be easier said than done, I realize.

In fairness to you both, though, you may need more information to face the circumstances you’ve got in the fairest way possible for you both going forward.

aj6044: Your mother needs to be housed in a rehabilitation facility after the SNF in order for her bones to heal. Please let medical professionals manage her care as if you attempted this in the home setting, you may find it EXTREMELY challenging.

Update. Not a single bed open the entire state. Going on 5 weeks in the hospital.

Observe the CNA's and other staff at the SNF where she is.
Ask them to teach you what to do.
And I bet you will notice that her care REQUIRES 2 people. So you will need another set of hands when/if she goes home.
There are ways to change a person in bed but it does require rolling them from one side to the other.

Side note the purchase of an alternating pressure mattress might not have been necessary. The doctor can order that it is considered DME and is covered. And depending on other conditions she has if she qualifies for Hospice then Hospice will provide all the equipment and supplies that you would need as well as having a CNA come to help several times a week. And the CNA is able to teach you the in's and out's of care.