Broken Hip

[flyingcloud]

Was only recently discussing on a thread my worries about living far from ageing parents...

My mother has broken her hip - non-displaced fracture that requires pinning (that's all the info I have). She is supposed to be in hospital for 2 days (is that right?)

I am hugely worried about her.

She lives on her own and I live in another country. My younger brother (a fairly feckless 27 but loving all the same) lives close to her. He is self-employed so am conscious of him taking time off work.

Can anyone advise on recovery from this? What will her aftercare be like? Should I drop everything and fly home (my brother took her to hospital where she is now, fracture diagnosed, but waiting to see the orthopaedic surgeon). I have a full-time job and an 11mo DD - I will need to employ serious help to look after her if I go (or I can take her with me, but it means I am less of a help to my mother).

Any experience of this type of injury greatly appreciated. She is 69 (70 this year), fairly active and young for her age, although I suspect she has mild osteoporosis.

The social work department at the hospital should sort it all out. She will probably have a district nurse visit along with a community physio. Depending on what her house is like, she may need to have her bed moved downstairs and have a commode.
TBH, I suspect she'll be in hospital for longer than two days. Two weeks seems more realistic, particularly if services need to be put in place.

From my observations during my stay on the trauma ward, most of the ladies were in for about 4 days with pinned hips, and those without care were going to an intermediate care/rehab unit for a couple of weeks so that they got physio and care while they did the immediate recovery.

Social services and the community team will sort it out though. If your brother will be able to visit her at home once a day, plus organise an online shop to be delivered (Ocado will carry it all in to the kitchen and take heavy stuff to where you want it if you are incapacitated), then she should be fine

Thanks both for your replies. She is in Ireland and from what I can make out she doesn't seem to get any aftercare, but she's a bit out of it on the pain killers and I'm not sure she is asking the right questions. I have given my brother a list of questions to ask and told him to find out pronto what kind of aftercare she needs.

She is having it pinned today and I think is supposed to be out by Friday (she is in a ward in the daycare centre as they didn't have enough beds, she waited a good five hours for a bed in the daycare centre and didn't see the orthopaedic surgeon until 9pm last night, having been x-rayed at lunch time).

My searches on the internet say that she will be encouraged to get moving fairly quickly. She does, luckily, have a stairlift that is as old as the hills, which was bought for my father when he was terminally ill fifteen years ago. It still works.

Poor thing, it is so miserable for her.

how old is she flyingcloud?

my mum broke her hip and had it screwed rather than a hip replacement. she was in hospiatl over 2-3 weeks and needed alot of help afterwards.

i think i would fly back...but it depends on your commitments where you are.

Well ,for what it's worth ,my 90 year old mum broke neck of femur ( and had other health problems ) she was out in a week and managed ( bed downstairs ) well with me popping in with food .
She's fine now ( 6 months later ).

Thanks - alypaly - she is 69, turning 70, very active and young for her age though (physically).

She had it pinned last night, sounded in good form post op (lots of morphine). I haven't yet spoken to her this morning. I have been told she will be released in five days and that she should be 'self-caring' when she is released. She can't drive for three months and lives in a fairly remote location. As mentioned above she does have a stairlift in the house, but she may struggle to get in and out of it.

It's been a nightmare, nightmare week (I am looking after someone's dog at the mo and the dog has had a serious tummy upset overnight [vom emoticon]), I am trying to sell our house in England, only to find out that we have a fairly serious damp problem. I quite badly need the money too and am desperate to 'get out' of the property market. My back-up babysitter has gone away for ten days. I will have to take DD with me, and travelling alone with her is a bit of a nightmare (but doable), that's been Mum's one request, she is desperate to spend time with DD so at least if we go together it should raise her spirits, if nothing else.

Thanks for all your replies.

did the doctor say why they had pinned rather than replaced the head. I saw the diagram and the the end x ray and i felt as though it was a temporary measure, my mum was very active before her op and at 84 used to walk over a mile a day to the shops.

my mum needed constant help after it and unfortunately never walked again. she also developed alzeihmers and other major health issues and deteriorated quickly. she is no longer with me

But your mum is alot younger and should recover more quickly but it is painful for at least 3 months

Oh, Aly, I am sorry to read about your mum.

She cracked the tip and they obviously didn't seem to think replacing it was necessary, although I have read that replacement is usually carried out at that age.

It sounds like her friends are rallying round to come and visit her in hospital, which is great and reassures me a lot.

Although you confirm my worry that this will have an aging effect on her - the lack of activity won't be good for her. She has two dogs and walks them every day and she does a lot of gardening.

my mum cracked the tip too and they just put a surgical screw through to anchor it back in place. obviously it makes the smooth ball part of the joint rough as the screw penetrates the smooth cartilage. this caused my mum alot of pain.

hope your mums op is successful for her and i wish her a speedy recovery

Thank you. Appreciate your help and advice.