Quality of life after severe fall??

[MicheleWeinberger]

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Can I ask how long he was in hospital for?

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

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

DM fell and broke her femur last year (mid 80s) was back to fully fit and all activity within 6 weeks.

Sadly DF fell and broke vertebrae and ribs this year and after 12 weeks in a rehab unit having daily physio has had to be discharged to a nursing home with hoisting necessary for all movements. I am now wondering whether we should have tried private physio, he is self-funding though and we need to take care not to use up too much of his money. No dementia but he is about the only one in the home without it which is sad, but he couldn't have gone back home, the house isn't suitable.

My late 98 grandfather lived independently with his wife. Good health and no cognitive problems. He fell and broke his hip. He was fixed and spend couple of months in hospital. He didn’t manage to walk anymore so was discharged in wheelchair to home. Two months later he suddenly died while sitting in his wheelchair.

Your df situation sounds very similar to my fil. I'll let my husband know that there does seem to be some kind of life after such an injury. Such a shame that his life will likely be in some kind of care going forward considering how fit he was before.

Definitely life, but it is very different. DF only broke one vertebra and one rib but also suffered a small bleed on the brain. It was a neck vertebra and he had to wear a neck brace for three months while it healed. Obviously all spinal injuries are different, but the fact that your DF was fit and well should stand him in good stead and he can have treatment for the osteoporosis. My DF was frail before, used a stick to walk and had already had several cardiac episodes and a stroke but was otherwise fairly healthy for late 80s. It was many weeks before it became clear what the long erm prognosis looked like though.

It amazes me how strong people can be.

Thanks for all the responses

You need to get him up and walking as soon as possible. The longer he lies in bed the worse it will be for him. He will lose muscles very quickly - this is not good.

It amazes me how strong people can be.

Thanks for all the responses

My FIL (88) fell a few weeks ago. His mobility wasn't good to begin with and he used a walker around the house and had carers coming in. He fell at home in the bathroom, fractured a couple of ribs and was admitted to hospital. He had a total of 7 weeks in hospital, 4 weeks in rehab hospital. He did not really help himself by doing the physio offered and generally refused to get out of bed at all. He has lost so much muscle and got so frail he was discharged straight to a nursing home. He now is 100% bedridden. I agree with @LevelHed he will have the best chance of recovery for his mobility out of hospital.

MIL broke a hip last year, having done the same previously. She was initially in pain but thanks to physio became much better and stronger and was speedier on her feet than before the fall.
However as soon as she was ‘better’ she stopped the exercise and has really really slowed down. It’s a shame really.

My 83 year old MIL who was quite active, still volunteering, weekly dance lessons had a fall and broke her hip and had a hip replacement, unfortunately googling, I found the statistics saying over 80% would die within a year. She did well after the op, but lost a lot of confidence and only did what was absolutely necessary. Physically she was good, but mentally it changed her, she died 2 years later.

Has there been any spinal cord involvement? Generally older people don't recover well from spinal cord injury - it's a major system shock and can often be a trigger for organ failure.

If there isn't an SCI, then the problem will be keeping him well whilst he's immobile from the ribs and at a big risk of infection due to diminished breathing capability. Unfortunately ribs aren't like a hip, where the medical treatment is often to replace and mobilise ASAP. Ribs just really preclude mobilisation as the pain is just so intense and difficult to manage.

Unfortunately I'd say it doesn't sound very hopeful for a long term meaningful recovery. But liaise with his hospital team about extra care. He might not be taking in enough calories and fluids due to the pain. So it would be worth asking about fortified drinks. Also specialist positioning support to improve his secretion drainage and comfort.

There's an 83 year old man at my gym.
He came off his bicycle aged 81 breaking 3 vertebrae. I think being already fit saved him...he's back to full mobility hence at the gym 4 days a week.

My mother aged 90 fell and broke her hip. She was pretty active until then. It has impacted her mentally and 6 months later she had a diagnosis of vascular dementia.

It feels a fall can go either way....no longer term issues or the start of decline.

My friend in her late 70's had a very bad fall and broke several vertebrae. She was in a very bad way, in lots of pain, several weeks in hospital and then discharged into a very lovely private nursing home which she funded herself. She had lots of physio and is now back at home, well recovered. The only difference is now she has a cleaner (she already had a handyman/gardener). I think the pampering nursing home stay and physio made a huge difference. (Unfortunately she had a horrific time in hospital, but that's another story.) There is always hope of recovery.

No his spinal cord seems to be OK. But he has a feeding tube and cannot drink or eat at present due to coughing fits and the inability to swallow and the risk of liquid/food going into his lungs excaserbating the pneumonia.

They do try and move him regularly and he does try to do the exercises but it causes him absolute agony and stops hil sleeping. It's all the broken ribs that are causing the biggest problem. Plus he always suffered from a bad back which is being triggered again by the fall meaning he cant sit in a chair.

We are just taking it daily at the moment as he won't be leaving the hospital for a long while. But wanted to try and get an idea what the future may hold for him and us.

Ok that's good news on both fronts. The feeding tube (I assume NG) will be uncomfortable, but will give him the best chance of getting enough calories in to help the body heal.

Ribs are a horrible injury, and unfortunately there's not much that can be done to speed up healing (other than staying hydrated and fed) or to provide support to reduce pain.

Thank you. The hospital seem to be doing all the right things for him luckily.

MIL fell and broke her femur years ago. Got home eventually but could do very little. Is now in care after FIL passed, she shuffles from A to B but quality of life is not great.