My dad has Alzheimer’s and has started getting out of his bed to get things (peanuts on the bookcase across the room) while forgetting that he cannot walk. He’s at a memory care.
We have a hospital bed that they lower to the ground and a fall mat to help cushion his falls. He’s fallen out of the bed four times since February.
Medicare is paying for most of the hospital bed. My sister thinks he needs a bigger bed (thinking it’s happening in his sleep sometimes too) but if he’s getting out of the bed I’m not sure a bigger bed will help.
My questions are:
1. Did your loved one go through this and how long does this stage last?
2. Suggestions to help him stay in bed? Or is that fighting a losing battle and we just have to accept that he’s going to do it?
3. How do you keep from being constantly on edge that he will fall again?
He went to the ER this afternoon because he hit his head but he is thankfully okay with no broken bones. I’m getting the lighter end of this deal because my sister lives closer to him so she was with him at the ER.
Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Universal-Mattress-Perimeter/dp/B00V86G39C/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1B26O8WI2MNT0&keywords=Fall+prevention+bolster&qid=1647061697&s=hpc&sprefix=fall+prevention+bolster%2Chpc%2C131&sr=1-5
Best of luck with a difficult situation
:)
hug!!
i hope lea’s idea of
bolster pillow cover,
works for your father!!
——
i have a question please courage.
is it correct he’s falling out because the bed rails are down during the night? why are the bed rails not kept up?
is it because that’s the policy in that MC?
i heard sometimes keeping the bed rails up has led to even worse accidents in facilities (people climbing over), so they keep them down.
I wish I had a better answer to this common problem. I would discuss with the M.D. were I you.
this is just my opinion:
i think facilities should look at this on a case by case basis.
for example, if "Papa" would have stopped falling, if they just put up the rails, then they should have done that.
if "Papa" would have tried to climb over the rails, then you look for other solutions.
not everyone tries to climb over the rails.
in some cases, some people just roll too far to the side, and fall: easily + compassionately solved by putting up the rails.
i think it's unkind - in some cases - not to put up the bed rails.
:)
i know....there are laws... :(
i'm saying, some of these laws aren't good. :(
great your husband could have the short rails :) :) !!
To keep Mom in her bed at the Nursing Home, they tucked pillows all around her. No more cut and scraped up legs and feet trying to climb out. It worked but that caused major back aches as Mom could not turn from one side to another. Those hospital beds are so narrow.
When Mom was in her wheelchair, she kept tumbling out because she thought she saw something on the rug. The only way of stopping that was putting Mom in a recliner chair and place a pillow under her knees. Mom would work on pulling that pillow out for hours on end, but it kept her from falling.
Falling was now a fact of life in Mom's world, and the same with my Dad. On the plus side, Dad learned to use a rolling walker, where my Mom had refused to use one she said it "made her look old"..... she was in her late 90's. If only she wasn't so stubborn, it was a major fall with head trauma that eventually put her into a nursing home. Dad had his falls, 911 and ER trips, but the walker help slow down that routine.
Sounds like you have him at home since Medicare is paying for the bed?
While you might can't stop the habit, you might consider adding another layer of protection. You may want to google "bed alarms" because there are a lot of options... pads on the bed and pads on the floor. Here is one site I found... https://aginginplace.org/best-bed-alarms-for-elderly-fall-prevention/ but there a lot more! If you go this route, if his doctor writes a prescription, Medicare may pay.
If he is veteran and not already receiving services, be sure to enroll him in the medical care offered. We drug our feet for years because we have good insurance then we learned that you only have to have a checkup through the VA once a year to take advantage of many things Medicare won't pay for but the VA will provide. We have gotten several items of DME (Durable Medical Equipment) from them.
like many people, i tried many times to protect my mother (sound mind) from falling (solution A, B, C, D...Z -- is there another letter after Z? i need one!).
my mother screaming at every solution.
(i also considered buying the solutions without her consent -- but she said if i do that, she'll scream AND, etc., etc.).
she fell.
it's not easy.
courage everyone!!
i am, step by step, finding ways to convince her.
AND working on my life.
Unfortunately, bed rails are considered restraints, and nursing homes aren't allowed to use them, but the pillows are OK.