To think a broken hip means hospital?

[onestepat]

Ok so my gran is 98 nearly 99.
Friday she fell and she couldn't stand /couldn't walk.
Obviously I phoned a Ambulance who took her to hospital.
My aunt said I was putting her in the firing line for covid.
She couldn't stand or walk and was in pain..what could I do ?
Anyway x ray showed a broken hip
They operated yesterday and today she is recovering.
I called and she was in the chair eating her lunch.
Please someone tell me I did the correct thing?
What other option did I have?
I'm terrified she will catch covid but I couldn't leave her at home in that condition.
My aunt is being ridiculous

In my experience, every family has a couple of people who always willing to say other people should go without medical treatment to avoid the risk of something else. One of my gran's daughters was full of opinions about the dangers of codeine addiction and how the doctor should have stopped my gran's cocodamol prescription for her slipped discs.

Tragically, it turns out back problems can run in families. When she developed her own back problems, turned out meditation and putting up with it wasn't an option for her! She necked cocodamol for the pain like there was no tomorrow.

Break your aunt's hip and see whether she's happy to suffer with it at home rather than risk going into a hospital.

Of course you did the right thing. Your aunt’s an idiot.

Any major bone fracture in a place like a hip has the potential to cause internal bleeding (depending on the exact position and fracture itself of course), so needs hospital treatment. Looks like in this case your gran was lucky, but that couldn't be known without scans/X-rays.

Your aunt is definitely ridiculous!

Of course you did the right thing. Stop letting your aunt bully you. Hopefully she’ll be home in no time.

My aunt is very old school and would have preferred my gran at home in bed till it healed.
I didn't think it was realistic

And what did your gran think? How did she fancy three plus months lying in bed, needing assistance for even the most intimate personal care?

She has dementia so didn't understand what was going on.
She has good and bad days but more bad lately.

Of course you did the right thing ! X

You did the right thing. This gives your gran the best chance of surviving. It also treats the awful pain of breaking a major bone.

Your Aunt is being ridiculous. Your Gran is at far greater risk of pneumonia, which would kill her, by laying in bed for 3-4 months. That's why they have them up and about so quickly. At that age they are vulnerable to all sorts of infection that is lurking around in hospital - any of which could prove to be fatal.

Yea you did the right thing. My dad broke his hip after a fall last year and was in hospital for a week or so. He walks with a crutch now and is a lot more frail than he used to be but he has a lot of other problems as well.

Yes, absolutely.
I have severe osteoporosis and have been told that even for me, in my early 40's it could be a life or death situation.

Of course you did the right thing!

If an elderly person has reasonable mental capacity, the treatment tends to be an operation and rehab because they can understand the physio etc..
My friends mother had dementia and when she broke her hip they confined her to bed, in hospital, for about 2-3 months until it was healed, then she was returned to the residential home where she lived.
I doubt with the best will in the world OP that your gran could have had the best of care in her own home and given her age it would have been a very long haul.
Ignore your aunt you did the best thing, I'm sure if the Dr's thought your gran could have been treated at home they would have suggested it, given the current climate.

In that case, the operation was definitely the right way to go. Three months stuck in bed would only have exacerbated the progression of the dementia, I think. If the hip had healed perfectly, she wouldn't have benefited from it the way she will now.

Absolutely you did the right thing.
Hope she recovers quickly and easily!

What other choice is there for a 99 year old with a broken hip?

I do try to remain positive, but sometimes I get unnecessarily rattled at the stupidity of some questions!!

Where would your aunt had rather you’d taken gran? To the Dfs sale? To a car mechanic? To your local blacksmith? None of those would have helped. She needed hospitalisation.

Yep, your aunt is an idiot and you absolutely did the right thing - your grandma could have died if she hadn't gone in.

Fractured neck of femur (probably what her actual injury was) can cause blood clots, shock, internal bleeding and of course the immobility, which is a problem in its own right as it can contribute to heart failure and pneumonia, especially in the elderly.

You can look up the health risks of untreated hip fractures and send them to your aunt, if you want. Tell her to wind her neck in.

of course you did the right thing!

she would have been disabled if you'd not taken her.

It was the ball of her hip she had broken
I think that's what it's called.
I think it might have been a partial hip replacement they did.

Yes, that's a fractured neck of femur - the neck of the femur is the ball joint that goes into the hip socket.

Of course you did the right thing, at that age a broken hip can mean a visit to the hospital or to the funeral home.

Great to hear she is recovering well, it could have gone badly ver quickly if you had allowed her to stay at home.

You did absolutely the right thing - it’s amazing how quickly they can recover from a hip replacement/repair and be up and about. Lying in bed is absolutely the worst thing, it leaves them very vulnerable to pneumonia.
She’d have needed nursing care even if she’d been at home so at risk of COVID anyway with people going in and out - it’s far easier to get her the rehab she needs in hospital and they’ll be watching like hawks for any sign of infection.

Your main priority now should be making sure there’s a proper plan in place for rehab and discharge - don’t let her be discharged until there’s a care package in place that you’re 100% happy with - don’t think ‘oh we can probably manage’. Think about what would happen if you were ill and couldn’t get in. If she likes to be up early and won’t wait for her breakfast there’s no point having her first visit at 10 in the morning or vice versa! The biggest risk to her is another fall and doing more damage so minimise that danger before you worry about covid in hospital.
We’ve just got my mum home from hospital after rejecting packages that weren’t suitable and waiting for the right one for her, they were taking infection control incredibly seriously in the wards. I had no worries that she was any more at risk there than at home.
Say yes to any offers of equipment (much easier to get stuff while you’re in the system and get it taken away afterwards if you don’t need it).

Do you really need to ask? Hmm, possibly catching Covid 19 or the excruciating debilitating pain of a broken hip, 🤔 a tough one.

If it wasn’t serious they, wouldn’t have operated so quickly.

Nurse here- you did the right thing. Leaving her at home would have been neglectful and legally risky, especially if she's deemed to not have mental capacity. Ignore your aunt x

100% the right thing.