Mom fell several months ago and broke her hip. Since the fall she has gotten full blown dementia. We have put her in assisted living and she is also on Hospice. We have added a bed alarm to her bed, but somehow she still falls out of the bed with rails and falls out of her lift chair that is sitting flat. I get a minimum 1 call a night and some during the day hours to alert me she has fallen. So far she hasn't gotten hurt, but every time the phone rings I'm afraid that it's going to be the call that she has. We've asked/told her not to get up without paging for assistance, but she never does. Last night the nurse had just gone in to check on her and was getting her medicine. Ten minutes later she walked back into mom's room with her medicine and found mom on the floor.Mom tells us she needs to clean or take care of the children that she thinks is in the room or bed with her. She has the alert necklace and bed alarm. My next step is to get a baby monitor that will stay with the nurse that is assigned to her. I'm trying to get that approved now. The doctors are tweaking meds, etc. I'm at wits end and don't know what else to do. Any suggestions out there?
Does it help to know why she's doing it? Not sure it does help, really, unless it points to some way of preventing it. It could be she's not comfortable in her lying/ sitting position, and her brain creates some reason why she needs to get up - that's the only thing I can think of that might be worth having a look at, since everything else seems to be covered.
In the end, if it happens, it happens. Once you've done all you can you're left with accepting whatever risk still remains. Sorry, I know how nerve-racking it is.
I'm told, but haven't got one, that as part of the bed/chair pressure pad alarm system you can get an automated reminder. So, for example, if your mother starts to lift herself up in the chair, the alarm cuts in and a recorded message says "[her name] - call for help, wait 'til they come."
Sorry this is a difficult phase.