Mother in law just broke her hip

Very early this morning my husband and I woke up to an awful thud and wailing from my mother in law having fallen on the hard wood floor.

We called EMS, an ambulance came, took her to the hospital.

My husband just sent me a text from there confirming that the hip is indeed broken.

She’s only 63 and I feel like she’s falling apart,

Its my responsibility to take care of her and its getting more and more involved by the day.

She doesn’t take care of her pre-existing conditions, like diabetes and kidney failure,

How is she going to handle this?

How am I going to handle this?

I don’t know what to do anymore, since she moved in I’ve been on edge, but this is just too much, I’m really going to have to care for her in new and different ways now.

What a mess.

Does anyone know anything about broken hip recovery or how I’m going to cope with this turn of events?

5 Likes

I really don’t know anything about caring for older people or broken hips, but i just wanted to say in the midst of all you’ve got on your plate don’t forget to take care of you. It’s easy to forget meds or other little things that can be detrimental to our recovery. Be sure to take care of yourself too.

4 Likes

Thank you,

I appreciate that advice.

2 Likes

Oh gosh, I’m sorry! I’m sure the doctor will have advice for you. Could you guys maybe look into getting a home health aid to help share the workload?

4 Likes

We’re going to try,

Its just further complicated by the fact that she lost all her insurance benefits about three weeks ago so I don’t know what she’s going to qualify for in terms of care.

Oy vey.

2 Likes

My mom was only 56 when she broke her hip. She had to stay in a nursing home for a few weeks while she healed.

3 Likes

Wow.

I hope she’s able to get the care she needs because she’s uninsured right now,

Just lost benefits about three weeks ago.

2 Likes

Yeah, that sucks.

I hope she can get that kind of care, because she’s probably going to need it.

2 Likes

My aunt broke her hip about a year or two ago. She is incredibly frail probably because instead of eating real food because she hates eating she only drank brandy and occasionally ate pop tarts. My cousin and his girlfriend are living with her and are her caretakers. She can barely get around with a cane. It takes a long time for her to get anywhere. She lives like 2000 miles away so I didn’t really see her much growing up. I’m sorry that that happened to you and you are now a caretaker. Make sure to take care of yourself too sometimes I’ve never had to be one but it sounds incredibly hard

2 Likes

My husband talked to a social worker at the hospital and they have a program that she qualifies for that’ll help pay for all this.

So maybe she can get into a rehab facility after surgery and everything.

7 Likes

I’m sorry about everything @GoldenRex.
A broken hip will take time to fully heal.

Like others said, make sure you are taking care of yourself.

You have a lot on your plate right now.

2 Likes

I already said this in the “say anything” thread, but I thought I’d update this one too,

After some diagnostics it looks like there’s a growth in her lungs that could be cancer.

Of course, they’re focusing on the hip right now, but that’s some real concerning news.

She’s been a heavy smoker most her life.

I’m so sorry. How’s your mother-in-law holding up in light of all of this?

2 Likes

She’s pretty doped up on pain meds,

I don’t think she’s really comprehending how poor her health is right now and that may be a good thing.

We just have to take it one step at a time.

2 Likes

Oh man. I hope things get better for your family @GoldenRex. She must be eligible for Medicare? hha, pca or visiting nurse to stop in to help?

2 Likes

I really hope she’s eligible for something,

She really needs the help.

Thank you.

2 Likes

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here,

But I’ve been doing some research and it looks like you can’t even do chemo if you have stage 4 renal failure because the chemo would kill what’s left of your kidneys.

If she’s got cancer, what are her options going to be?

Dear god.

I’m not expecting answers here,

I’m just venting my frustrations.

Sorry to hear of all the troubles, broken hip at that age is pretty serious, Like the other poster said don’t forget to look after yourself

2 Likes

I was going to suggest how about speaking to the GP to get a carer in to help ease the stress on yourself. You need to look after you too. :hugs:

3 Likes

Please do look after yourself @GoldenRex. I don’t consider you expendable, which makes you a one percenter in my world. Sending best wishes for a positive outcome here.

:heart:

5 Likes