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Elderly parents
Original poster

Quality of life after severe fall??

32 replies

MicheleWeinberger · 14/12/2025 22:58

My fil fell over his banister 3 weeks ago and broke 10 ribs and 6 vertebrae. Has been battling pneumonia the whole time as well in hospital due to his broke ribs. He is now on the hospital ward having been in icu.

Just wondered if anyone's parents have been able to recover from a severe fall. He is 77 and been really fit and healthy before this not frail at all but does have osteoporosis.

If they did recover how long did it take.? Recovery just seems unimaginable but he's made it this far so looking for other experiences

Thank you xx

OP posts:
Original poster
MicheleWeinberger · 15/12/2025 10:38

LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/12/2025 09:31

A week in ICU and two weeks in a general ward where the nurses were run off their feet and he kept falling out of bed, so we found a care home as quickly as we could.

Thank you for replying. My fil can barely move still because of his pain and weakness.

It's interesting to hear that recovery is possible from terrible fall and multiple broke bones as we were thinking he would never recover

OP posts:
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/12/2025 09:31

A week in ICU and two weeks in a general ward where the nurses were run off their feet and he kept falling out of bed, so we found a care home as quickly as we could.

Original poster
MicheleWeinberger · 15/12/2025 09:17

LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/12/2025 00:39

DF (87) was living independently when he fell and broke a vertebra in his neck, which then caused breathing difficulties. He was in ICU for a week and when the ventilator was removed he was very confused. The medical staff thought it was delirium to start with but sadly it persisted and he was eventually diagnosed with dementia. Despite this he was really determined to regain his mobility and actually got back to walking, with physio, in the care home he was transferred to. Unlike your father he wasn’t fit at all beforehand and tbh we were all surprised at the determination he showed. Sadly the dementia meant that he would try to walk when it wasn’t safe and he kept falling, which eventually meant that he lost his mobility again. If it had happened 10 years earlier I have no doubt that the physical outcomes would have been different and the fact that your father is fit is a very positive sign. If you / he can afford it I would recommend private physio, which ( in our area at least) was more intensive and personalised than the NHS service.

Can I ask how long he was in hospital for?

OP posts:
Original poster
MicheleWeinberger · 15/12/2025 08:22

Thanks for the replies xx

Just goes to show how different outcomes can be it seems.

Still early days for us at the moment. He has delirium as well but seems to be lucid in the day if he slept OK the night before then delirium creeps in as he gets more tired. He refuses to watch the tele in his room so we do worry about his mentality to recover as time goes on especially if nursing home is a possibility. A nursing home would be his worst nightmare as it is for many I suppose.

OP posts:
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/12/2025 00:39

DF (87) was living independently when he fell and broke a vertebra in his neck, which then caused breathing difficulties. He was in ICU for a week and when the ventilator was removed he was very confused. The medical staff thought it was delirium to start with but sadly it persisted and he was eventually diagnosed with dementia. Despite this he was really determined to regain his mobility and actually got back to walking, with physio, in the care home he was transferred to. Unlike your father he wasn’t fit at all beforehand and tbh we were all surprised at the determination he showed. Sadly the dementia meant that he would try to walk when it wasn’t safe and he kept falling, which eventually meant that he lost his mobility again. If it had happened 10 years earlier I have no doubt that the physical outcomes would have been different and the fact that your father is fit is a very positive sign. If you / he can afford it I would recommend private physio, which ( in our area at least) was more intensive and personalised than the NHS service.

Redburnett · 15/12/2025 00:00

My relative never regained mobility, discharged to a nursing home and needed a hoist to be moved. It was very sad, especially as we thought with decent physio at an early stage she might have managed some degree of independence given she was previously living at home with carer visits.

olderbutwiser · 14/12/2025 23:18

77yo DBIL fell off a ladder from a second story window last year and broke his hip. Walked into the house, sat on the sofa for a bit, phoned the GP, gp said go to hospital so hobbled out to the car and DSis drove him to Minor Injuries 😱.

Hip replacement, was discharged a few days later. His recovery was complicated by a second back operation (unconnected) and RA, but after a year he’s back to something close to where he started.

He was shocked by how much condition he lost and how long the recovery took. In all honesty he’s done a lot better than I expected.