Mom refuses to walk all of a sudden. Any advice?

Purplerain, in another post I believe you mentioned your Mom is 95, so she's entitled to some aches and pains as the colder wet weather has started.

My Dad, who is 93, is grumbling more about his knees. I bought him one of those therapeutic snug flexible fabric covers that pulls up onto his knees. He said it has helped him. Also got him a rolling walker which has a seat, and he said that has also helped his knee pain. If your Mom is frail, the walker might not work well for her.

My mom, who has vascular dementia, can rarely tell us where it hurts. We've just increased her pain meds, because it's very hard to come to see her and find her saying, I'm in so much pain. She can't show or tell us where much of the time, and at other times she's fine.

If she is totally non ambulatory, can't even get to the potty, you call an ambulance and transport her to the ER.

Is she taking pain meds? folks with dementia don't process pain well. there are also pain patches that your doctor can prescribe that can give her topical relief.

To answer your question I mean one day she gets up and said my knees hurt I cant walk before that she will do some walking to the bathroom come to the table to eat and when she lets me I try to do some range of motion on her legs. we live in a apt bldg and I would walk her down the hall for exercises.I got a doctor appt soon and I dont think anything is broken mom talks and I ask her does anything hurt one day it is and the next something else I am so confused about her knees hurting and now she is living in her bedroom and thats more work for me thank goodness for friends and neighbors and this website because I am trying to hold it together.

Mom walked like a snail for months. Like a SNAIL. Her on her walker, me holding her gait belt to steady her. I'd have to help her to standing via her gait belt. It got harder and harder to get her to her feet. She walked from bed to bathroom to living room transport chair, to bathroom only, then to bed.

Then, one day, she was done. No more walking. She became bed-bound. There was a part of me that thought, "She's just not trying hard enough." But no, I knew better.

She passed in her sleep before 2 weeks were out.

You haven't given us enough information about her general condition and health problems, but I'd say winding down is certainly a possibility...

When you say "refuses" to walk, do you mean she say's "no I'm not going to walk anymore", or is it more like she's stopped walking and you don't know why? I think you should ask the doctor; could she have broken something? My mom had a broken hip for about a week and we didn't know about it because she couldn't talk at the time, due to a stroke. Change in physical or mental condition=call the doctor. Let her/him decide if it's nothing.