It's hard to believe that an elderly woman having a fall can be seen as a good thing but in this instance I can't help looking at the bright side. My neighbour Margaret is becoming increasingly frail and has been having increasingly frequent falls but has pretty much been in denial. The number of times I have been called to lend a hand has been growing steadily. Yes, I'm happy to be like the Cyndi Lauper song "if you fall, I will catch you. I will be waiting, time after time" but in the end it would be better if something was put in place to stop it happening. This fall may be the reality check she needed and the trigger for a more formal help package. Up until now there have been explanations for why the falls had been an unfortunate accident. This time she seemed frail and scared and sad. That's not the positive. The positive is that after I hugged her and reassured her, she let me call an ambulance. Her blood pressure was "at stoke level" and her feet clearly affected by diabetes. A hospital and a visit by the Aged Care Assessment Team is what is needed. If, and it's a big if, she's allowed home measures should be put in place to make life safer for her. By lunch time she was far happier and looking forward to this afternoon's Bold and the Beautiful. That fighting spirit was back. I just hope it's channeled in the right direction. |
| About 12 hours later |
Oh poor Margaret, I hope she's sorted out soon. So grateful you were there to help her.
ReplyDelete