My mom has dementia and has fallen over 7 times just this month, went to er for stitches and came back to memory care only to fall again and go right back to Hospital! This is a non stop issue…. She has hospice as well and a Walker but they tell me she leaves it places and they can’t watch her all the time
But the last few months - he forgot - after YEARS of using a walker religiously and several months of needing 2-person transfer to a wheelchair - that he could no longer walk on his own. And he started getting out of the bed and trying to walk constantly. They finally had to lower his bed as far down as possible and put pads on the floor as a protective measure - and also give him medication for his agitation because he was getting out of bed to "go to work".
There is no way to prevent these falls, unfortunately. But if you already have hospice on board, ask them about a tilt back wheelchair perhaps, which is hard to get out of and hard to fall out of. Of course my mother found a way to SLIDE out of that wheelchair herself, and to finagle herself from it onto the toilet where she'd fall onto the floor.
Mom lived to 95 despite chronic falls and other issues.
With dementia at play, we know something will take them down and pray it's not going to be a long and lingering passing. I wish you good luck and Godspeed with all of this, and wish I had an answer for you.
There honestly is little to be done. It is no longer allowed by law in most places to restrain people in any way. The facility she is in will have best advice for you, but in these circumstances, there is simply so little that works. Not everything can be fixed. I am so sorry.
My nearly 101-yr old Aunt, with advanced dementia, was aging in her own home with 2 family caregivers and her older sister. She fell multiple times and finally one night escaped her bed barriers, tried to walk, fell and broke her hip. The classic elder scenario. It is often said on this forum that falling is the beginning of the end, as it was for my Aunt who passed away within 2 weeks as the rehab facility just as I was in the process (and struggling with) where to place her. Even while in rehab with her still broken hip she was attempting to get out of bed and climb out the window! I knew she'd continue to get up no matter where she went and I think that LTC probably wouldn't have been recommended for her.
I wish you wisdom and peace in your heart as you go on this journey with your Mom.
Can a wheelchair be ordered for her? If so request a "tilt back" one. Tilting the back will make it more difficult for her to easily get out of the chair.
the chair can be placed in a common room or by the nurses station so they can more easily keep an eye on her.
With dementia (and many elders in general) it is not a matter of IF there is a fall but WHEN. Falls are very common and pretty much impossible to prevent.
Falling is often a major part of dementia, and you could literally be standing right next to your mom and she could fall right in front of you.
My late husband who had vascular dementia and I was home with, fell all the time. There was one 2 month period where he fell 9 times and I had to call 911 each time to come get him up.
Eventually my husband became bedridden, so I no longer had to worry about him falling. That may be the next step for your mom.
But in the meantime, perhaps you may have to ask hospice to provide a wheelchair for your mom and hope that she'll stay seated in that.
There isn’t anything that you can do. If you go to the search at the top of this page and search for falling, you will find many posts on this subject and you will get a feel for how hopeless it is to expect your mom not to fall.
I wish there was a solution. Please know that even if you or staff were standing right beside her, she could fall.