What To Expect If Your Elderly Parent Falls
When your parents begin to age and have mobility issues, you find yourself worrying that they will suffer an injury or fall. However, if and when it does happen, you need to know what to expect and how to handle the situation. Because the impact of a fall can be so damaging to the frail bones and weakened muscles of the elderly, you need to learn what to expect when your parent does fall and require medical care. If you know what to expect, you will be better prepared to help the parent you love recover as quickly and as well as possible.
Short Term Rehabilitation
After a visit to the hospital for emergency medical care, your elderly loved one will likely require a stay in a short term rehabilitation facility to recover from their injuries. Short term rehabilitation provides patients with physical, occupational, and even speech therapy (if necessary) to recover quickly from an injury.
Short term rehabilitation occurs in an inpatient setting which serves as a transitional period for your parent in the recovery process. They are given the skills and strength they need to be able to function at home and out in the world again. Physical therapy exercises, for example, can help a person with a lower body injury to be able to walk, maneuver, and have sufficient range of motion to move around their home and care for themselves properly.
Home Care Services
Once your parent is ready to leave the short term rehabilitation facility and go home, you may worry that they are going to fall again. And this is not an entirely unfounded fear.
As people age, their overall mobility and physical strength decline steeply. This increases their risk of falling. Add to that the fact that your parent is still recovering from an injury, and they will be more likely to suffer another fall. So, when they are headed back home from short term rehab, you may want to consider hiring a home health agency to provide care in your parent's home and help to reduce the chances they suffer another injury.
Home care services can help to monitor your parent, administer medications, ensure they are performing their physical therapy exercises, and provide companionship to your aging parent. You can hire these services for 24-hour care or for only a few hours a day depending on what your parent needs. Just remember that even if your parent are able to handle daily living tasks on their own, if they do fall, it is better to have assistance already in place.
When you know what to expect and how to handle it when your elderly parent suffers a fall, you will better able to help them through this tough situation. Talk to a professional like The Village At Morrisons Cove for more information.