My father had an ATV accident. He broke 6 ribs, the collar bone and cracked the scapula. A bruised lung required a chest tube for drainage. He has no appetite. He is becoming nauseous. He seems to be getting depressed but the trauma team doesn’t seem to see it or addressing it. He is resistant to moving around. We understand the hospital wanting to get him up and moving. We agree with it. He understands it to but thinks they are being pushy and going too fast. They are trying to take the steps necessary for rehab. He is usually a persistent person (farmer by trade). How can we help him? Is giving up or being stubborn?
Please look into what the cause of the accident was. I've known of situations in which there was a heart attack, stroke, low blood sugar or other underlying issue that is the CAUSE of the trauma which gets overlooked in dealing with the trauma.
Is your dad as cognitively aware as he was before the accident? Was there head trauma?
Here's a story, not trauma, but instructive nonetheless.
My FIL, in his 70s, chronic HBP, poorly controlled, ended up in the hospital with renal failure. He woke up one day and said "I can't eat". Family and friends brought him his favorite foods (you've never seen so many tongue sandwiches in one place in your life).
He continued to lament, "I can't eat".
His wife nagged, his kids pleaded; he just looked sad and said "I can't eat".
A psych consult was sought. Psych talked to him for a while and called in a Speech Language pathologist. She examined him; he had lost his ability to swallow! (And his ability to accurately "name" what his difficulty (eat/swallow)--that's what the psych realized--that he'd had a stroke which had affected his language centers and his swallow reflex). Well trained psychiatrists are very good a localizing brain injuries.
Is your dad able to accurately report the location and severity of pain?
Some people ( My mom, even before she had any cognitive issues) was a poor reporter of her pain. Once she'd had a stroke, it was much worse. She broke her hip, but didn't report any pain! She was resisting PT, according to the rehab, but the PT noticed she wasn't bearing weight on one side.
We had a poster here last year, it turned out his mom had an undiagnosed spinal fracture, which was why she was " refusing" therapy.
If dad is " resisting", be aware that there may be pain he can't describe or localize adequately.
Post trauma depression is very real. Can you get a psych consult in the hospital? You may have to jump up and down and make a fuss ( I did, and I'm glad we got the psych perspective on my mom's needs).
Your job is to be dad's advocate.