Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! (Since this a family friendly place, I’ll just leave it at that.) As a caregiver, we have a lot of those moments. Moments, where all you can say is, ‘Really?’
That was my thought when my mom came home from visiting my G-mom at the rehab center, where my G-mom has been since Thursday. Her current living situation was the result of another fall. I found her on the floor next to her bed. It was probably her third fall in a week. We were able to get her up ourselves the first two times. This time however, she fell in an awkward position, and just to be safe, I called my good friends at 9-1-1. After spending all day in the ER, we discovered she had no broken bones and they were ready to send her home.
Hold up, wait! She can’t come home. She keeps falling. We need time to figure out a plan. Something’s gotta give. After her last hospital stay in February, we were able to transfer to a temporary nursing home environment. However, you have to be admitted to the hospital and spend at least three nights there, before you can be transferred to a skilled nursing facility/nursing home.
So after a friendly conversation with the nurse and explaining our situation, she suggested we speak with a case manager. If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s to speak up and ask questions! The case manager referred me to the rehab center, and here we are! She will only be here a week, but that will give me time to figure out a solution to this fall issue.
The rehab center seemed nice enough. I knew she wouldn’t get as much attention as she would in a nursing home environment, but they were professionals, and at this point I needed some professional assistance, even if it was temporary. Everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly until I walked into her room, three days into her stay, and saw this!
Seriously?
I know the photo quality is bad, but at the time, I took it more out of shock than to share with anyone. Ummm, excuse me officer. What is the charge, because that looks like jail to me? The only thing that kept me somewhat calm was the fact that she was napping peacefully. We eventually got her up and went to dinner. And at bedtime, she got back in the inverted playpen without a fuss.
I spoke with the staff about why such a restraint was needed, and they explained that she had tried to get out of the bed several times, without assistance. Of course, I wasn’t shocked by this news, that’s how she ended up on the floor at home. But basically, she’s a major fall risk. Since they don’t have anyone who is going to stay in her room and watch her all night, they have to use a ‘veil bed’. Yes, that’s what it’s called. Not jail, not a cage, but a veil bed. Got it. I understand, I just try not to think about what happens at 3AM when she wakes up and tries to get out of it. At this point, all I can do is pray and trust that she will be ok.