My mom fell out of bed yesterday morning

[MissMillie]

She has two black eyes, a cut near her nose, and a big fat lip. She had some x-rays, but we have not heard from anyone whether or not anything is broken. I made dinner for them last night, and she seemed fine. She looks like hell.

This is not the first time she has rolled out of bed.

She's 83, and has been diagnosed w/ Alzheimer's.

I feel powerless. I'm not ready to lose her yet, but I know I am going to lose her.

I can't even begin to imagine how my twin sister feels w/ my parents living in her home (2-family house--separate living spaces). I can't even begin to imagine how my dad (age 86) is dealing w/ this.

This summer on my birthday, my mother didn't even remember that she had given birth to twins.

I'm trying so hard to feel lucky that I've had her (and my dad) this long because most of my friends don't have both of their parents this long. Try very hard to count my blessings.

I'm not ready yet.

[Frustratedlady]

1. Just visited my sil in a care center who is also 83. She remembered me,

but not her niece and nephew who she loves dearly. When they were there in the room, she remembered and was clear minded. Puzzling.

There are bed guards you can slip under the mattress that would keep her in bed. One fall being stopped would be worth the price. I don't think they are at all expensive.

Good luck with your parents. I lost my parents within 6 weeks of each other and it was a long grieving period. You're never ready.

[cwydro]

2. Try this, it worked for my mom:

We put pool noodles on each side of the bed under the fitted sheet.

She never fell out again. She had two on each side, but one each side would probably work too.

It’s very frightening, I know.

[Trust Buster]

3. I just went through this sad process. I kept my mother at home until the last 2 months.

This disease slowly robs an Alzeimer patient’s ability to even do simple tasks. Towards the end, I had to spoon feed my mom, change her, bathe her, help her onto the toilet and even help her brush her teeth. This will become all consuming for your sister and rob her of her individuality and social life. People will stop calling and a feeling of isolation sets in for the caregiver. My brothers live out of state and I was my mother’s only caregiver. You will be of great help to your sister. I feared that my mother would die of infection, pneumonia or eventually lose her ability to swallow altogether and slowly starve to death in hospice. My mother eventually died because her brain lost it’s ability to communicate with her lungs to regulate her own breathing. Mercilessly, this breathing issue only lasted one day before she passed. I consider myself a pretty strong willed guy but that experience was easily the most challenging of my life. Please offer your sister all the support that you can. The isolation I felt was unbearable.

[blueinredohio]

4. If she can still get around pretty good put her mattress on the floor

that's what we did for my dad. Good luck