MIL has had a fall, hospital stay?

[YouGotThisKeepGoing]

MIL has just had a fall and is on her way to hospital in an ambulance. She thinks broken wrist or arm. She is early 70s. SIL is following in car.

They aren’t likely to keep her in overnight are they? I know it depends on the details of her injury but I am worried she’d be more at risk from Covid/Omicron in a hospital just now. And that they won’t have beds?

I very much doubt it - they'll not want to admit unless completely unavoidable (e.g. surgery required and it can't wait).

Xray, cast if required, painkillers and a verbal check to make sure she has support at home.

Hope she is ok, they will do xrays to see what is broken and treat it, she may have a cast put on or may need surgery, it depends on what damage she has. I would wait and see what they say and what she decides to do.

Thank you.

She lives alone- FILmpassed away at the start of the first lockdown. SIL has said MIL can go to stay with her though.

SIL lives about 30 miles away from her and we’re 20 in the opposite direction. DH is headed back now but it’ll take at least eight hours for him to get here. He was away with work and as he has the car with him I’ve no transport to get to her (and the hospital is 25 miles from MILs house in yet another direction).

To be honest, I’m really relieved it’s not her hip she’s broken. I’ve been half expecting something to happen for a while, increasingly so for the last couple of months.

She’s been in a bit of a decline since FIL died, she couldn’t have a proper funeral due to Covid and the isolation of lockdowns took a toll too. She been really a bit distracted and not herself since the end of summer.

My dad specialises in hospital trips due to falls. They will check her over and if she doesn't need to stay in she won't but they will also be looking at the cause of the fall so it's not just what injuries she has sustained. Generally dad is home after a few hours but he has had several over night stays while they monitor his heart/wait for test results.

That’s interesting countrygirl99 thank you.

She was standing on a chair to get something out of a cupboard. Like in the old public safety ads.

The ambulance people gave her morphine so she’s not in so much pain anymore at least.

Ironically that sounds like a "good" way to fall. Less likely to be due to an underlying issue.

Hopefully they will latch her up and send her home, I don’t think they want to keep anyone in unless the6 really need to right now. Hopefully it’s a simple break and won’t need surgery.

It might be worth planning what help she will need, she may be in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks and this can really affect day to day chores. I would make sure she has easy to get into clothes like front fastening bras, cardigans, pull on trousers, slip on shoes. There are aids that might help like a small travel kettle, ready meals, plate guards , handrails, waterproof plaster covers for showering, padded sling to take the weight off.

Hi op, my MIL (70) had a fall a couple of weeks ago - as @countrygirl99 says the key thing here is the reason for the fall. Did she trip/stumble or was there a loss of consciousness?

MIL was found on the floor outside by FIL and had no memory of even going outside, let alone falling. She was taken into A&E and given ECG, brain scans, xrays, the lot. She stayed the night and was sent home with a heart monitor so they could try and figure out if there was a reason for why she lost consciousness (still undiagnosed but she now can't drive for 6 months in case it happens again).

If it was a simple trip and she's got a fracture or sprain I imagine they'll check her over, splint/cast if need be and send her home. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

From the mechanism of fall I'd say she shouldn't be kept in. Only problem would be if she normally used a zimmer frame or other walking aid as with one arm out of action she would be unable to mobilise but as she was standing on a chair she's obviously independently mobile. I wouldn't worry about how far away your DH is it will take hours to get through the system and plastered. I work in emergency units👍

Thank you, this is all really helpful information and encouraging. As far as I know she just over reached herself a bit and fell off the chair.

No updates on her condition as yet, but I’m taking that as a good thing. Fingers crossed.

SIL let DH know MIL can stay with her til at least the New Year, so I expect that while she’s got her hands full with that, we can go to MILs house and get some things to make her life easier sorted out in the meantime.

Last time she was in hospital I did a big batch cook to fill her freezer and she got a bit embarrassed by it, so I’ll make soup and crumbles and get some little ready meals from M&S this time I think.

Just a quick update. MIL has been released. No need for surgery and nothing underlying suspected. Thanks for earlier

Buy her a proper step ladder to avoid this in the future. I'm glad she'll be ok.

She’s got one already. She just couldn’t be bothered fetching it.

@YouGotThisKeepGoing

She’s got one already. She just couldn’t be bothered fetching it.

FFS. Sounds just like my FIL.

DH once tried to hang a mirror with sellotape.