I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

It has been an interesting week in our household. Along with our "new normal" activities and adventures, we just had to add some more. For one, I got my annual case of poison ivy. Not life threatening of course, but irritating enough to make everything else seem worse. Okay, I will admit, I was really, really grumpy.

It was also the dreaded week when I needed to take my husband, who has dementia from Alzheimer's Disease, to our doctor for a check up. This included an entourage because in addition to my husband and me not being able to drive and his refusal to take the senior van, our caregiver/companion is recovering from shoulder surgery and could not drive either and I really needed her along. Before his appointment, I was seeing the doctor's P.A. for my poison ivy because by then it was on my eye lids. There was no way he would have stayed calm in the waiting room with only my sister but we needed her to to drive us all. This ended up being way more stressful than it needed to be for various reasons. The actual doctor visit was fine because she understands and knows my husband so well and he really likes her. It was just too much for him.

I knew that as stressful as the visit became, that he would have trouble afterward. What I did not realize is that it would last for two days. He was more confused than he has ever been. He kept getting himself up and dressed in the middle of the night and ask for his breakfast and morning pills. He was imagining strange events and kept insisting that there were other people here. I don't think I will ever figure out who was giving out goldfish and, no, I could not tell him if they were doing it safely. It took a while to get him calm after that one.

We finally got through the couple days of this added stress by keeping things calm and on schedule for him. We are not quite back to our normal, but we are getting there. 

At least it was until early morning when he decided he wanted to climb into my bed for a while. I had no problem with that, but I learned that a memory foam mattress is not the best bed to climb into when you are far from strong and nimble. He sat on the bed and tried to get his legs (not much strength there) up onto the bed, the memory foam had dipped from his weight on it and he slid right off.

My first instinct was to not let his head hit the marble top on my bedside table and I was successful in doing that. Now, though, he was wedged into a small space, less than 3' x 5', and there was going to be no way for him to get himself up. I won't go through all the details, but if it had been filmed, it would be a hit on YouTube. It wasn't easy for him to understand my instructions, but we did get him up safely. I knew enough to not try to lift him, especially by the arms, because that action can actually end in broken arms or arms pulled of their socket. Instead, I used my tried and true method of getting myself up after a fall. 

When asked how to get up once you have fallen, I usually give the advice of making sure you are not injured, if so call 911. If not, roll onto your tummy and crawl to a sturdy chair or other piece of sturdy furniture. I don't know how I learned to do that, most likely from falling so often.  Today, while trying to learn if there was a better or esier way to get my husband up from a fall, I found a great explanation of the technique I use.  I thought this might benefit everyone, so here is a link:  https://www.stayonyourfeet.com.au/over60/what-if-i-do-fall/get-up-off-the-floor/  They explain it a lot better than I can.

Also, here is one for how you can help someone else up if they need assistance.  It is the same basic procedure, but with some help.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10jR0zjl19Y

It is essential in either case, to do an inventory of the body to check for injuries before using this technique for yourself or when helping someone else. If there are injuries, call 911 for assistance if at all possible. 

Please bear in mind, through all of this, that while extremely effective, this technique to get yourself up from the floor after a fall can be quite embarrassing in the middle of a CVS store. Thank goodness I was not too far from the pharmacy where I knew some sturdy chairs were available. Needless to say, I now shop at CVS online.