She has been precarious the last few months, but had a rally. Now she stands and tries to move, but falls. She doesn't believe that happens and when I try to redirect her or move her to keep her safe, she fights me and then claims that I caused everything. Even if I am not in the room at the time she gets stuck or falls.
Any ideas for keeping her safe and, if at all possible, stop blaming me?
You could try adding a bolster under the sheets at the edge of the bed to make it more difficult for her to get up.
Move furniture that she may fall into, and pad what can't be moved
Lower the bed if possible.
Place fall mats on the floor
Use a bed alarm so you know when she's on the move, or a floor alarm so you know if her feet hit the floor.
Where is she trying to go? If she'd be more content in a chair then help her to sit there, then placing a heavy table in front of her can make getting up difficult.
But, thanks
as you know, i've always loved your screen name :).
i loooooove cashew nuts.
regarding what you posted:
1.
the blaming is terrible and so undeserved.
i went through the exact same thing. if i was in the same room, it was my fault. if i was in a different room, my fault. same country, my fault. same planet, my fault. you get the picture.
i don't think you'll ever get her to stop blaming. you can try reasoning with her, defending yourself. you can also try ignoring it. or alternating between standing up for yourself, and ignoring the accusations.
some mothers LOVE to blame their sweet daughters.
the blame will probably affect you and make you feel bad.
don't believe what she says.
detox from her words by being extra, extra, extra sweet to yourself.
2.
as for her falling -- how to prevent it?
many elderly parents listen more to non-family. she might listen much more to the hired caregivers/hospice workers.
hugggggg.
I’m so sorry that you are being blamed for this. Of course, it’s not your fault. My mom fell several times. She had Parkinson’s disease and had balancing issues. It’s heartbreaking.
I had my mom living with us for many years. Caregiving is a tough job! I see where your mom is on hospice at home. My mother was too.
Towards the end she was able to move into an “end of life” hospice home. This was a big relief for her and our family. She had wonderful care around the clock. Is this a possibility for your mom?
Before I read your profile, it sounded like she had a stroke. My brother had several small strokes. However, when his brain was recovering from the stroke, occasionally, the right half of the brain refused to cooperate with the left half of the brain so that whatever he was trying to do, wouldn't move. For instance, he would be walking fine, then attempt to turn the corner and his body locked; his body would refuse to go forward or backward. He also had trouble with a fork. Sometimes his brain would refuse to release the fork on the plate. He told me several times that he didn't have control of his movements.
I think you need to take her to the doctor pronto and see what is going on. It could be more than just vascular dementia.
There's only SO MUCH that can be done here.
Best of luck
I agree that the options are limited and it was basically me freaking out over her fall and her blaming me for her falling really ticked me off, lol.
Today...she's still trying to get up and blaming me but it's easier to deal with.
At the end of her life, my mom had a horrific fall and DID get transported to the hospital to stabilize her broken wrist. A day later, the expected bruising on her face appeared and my SIL wanted her taken back to the ER to find out what was going on. I stood my ground and said "no more hospital".
Mom was in a NH already, so it wasn't like there weren't doctors and nurses around. But I get what you're saying.
Can the hospice nurse check for a UTI?