Well, he can still get around but he’s been unsteady in his gait being 93 years old. Sure enough, he stumbled in front of his senior assisted living place yesterday. His head clearly hit the pavement and the impact shattered his glasses. His left eye was swollen shut yesterday from what I hear so it’s a slight improvement today. We’ll have to watch for slurred speech, etc…
Yeah… My aunt (the one who received the CGM) had an emergency craniotomy four years ago. While she stumbled, she did not hit her head but it was enough to jar her brain. Since dad hit his head pretty good, we’ll need to keep an eye on him.
He was more disoriented than usual today when I saw him at lunch. He asked several times which “teacher found him”. He thought he was back in high school, it seems.
Awe take good care of him, as I know you will. Dementia is such a hard illness to deal with.
My Mother in-law has advanced Dementia and she has struggles against the gravitational forces like your father. She has had black eyes on several occasions. I call her our little Raccoon because of the dark rings around her eyes.
Dementia is becoming more common now as people live longer and our chemically enhanced diet, yes? How old is she if I may ask? And did she ever get bleeds or slurred speech?
She is eighty years young. And she was on medication to thin her blood that would cause severe bleeding. We had to be very careful with her. She has been taken off that medicine and seems to be doing quite well. Her speech comes and goes. Occasionally she can hold a somewhat clear conversation. I can tell she is saying something but I don’t have a clue what it is. I just say “is that right, I didn’t know that”. Like it was hot gossip. LOL 🙂 Take care and God Bless….
That looks horribly painful. Lucky the glasses didn’t do any damage to his eyes.
Suggestion? Sports Glasses with the soft frames & plastic lenses. They give more on impact.
Many older people have vertigo problems as the cilia and connecting nerves on their cochlea begin to degrade. My dad falls very often; however, he still has his military training on “tuck & roll” with it. I am beginning to have touches of vertigo due to my abnormally low blood pressure (apparently I am a VERY calm person most of the time, LOL! – but I think the blood thinner effects from my pain medications result in blood pressure drops sometimes).
Somehow I think he will not complain about pain. From what I have learned, he is not that kind of person nor ever was.
If falling becomes or begins to become an issue, you may wish to get soft knee pads and elbow pads for him when he goes out walking, and encourage him to wear sporting gloves to prevent abrasions when and if he falls and tries to catch himself. And while not really needing one, I find a cane helps for ‘sensing’ one’s balance (increase/decrease of pressure on the palm) as well as helping one stay up when things get tipsy.
I do not know if he has the “old man’s shuffle” (my dad does) – but if he drags or shuffles his feet, you may want to work with him by encouraging him to remember his military days and “Lift those heels!” (and toes) off the ground as he walks. This helps ambulatory patients a great deal when they realize they will not trip as much if they lift their toes (and feet!) on uneven sidewalks.
I am sorry to hear he had an accident. Things could have been much worse. The dementia – not much to be done, except to work with him on cognitive exercises and such. Does he ‘play’ video games? Some of those ‘brain training’ games can help (albeit but a little) in staving such things off. (rewiring the brain to use new / good circuits where others are failing).
Capture as much as you can right now – I do miss my grandma. She was a wonderful person, too – and despite her dementia (which progressed to the point she could not remember much of anything) – she was very happy towards the end.
Will keep your dad in my prayers, glad he is alright. My mother in law also had dementia, she refused to use her walker because it “was for old people”, but we did manage to get her to use a cane and that did help. Blessings ~ Patty
Masako and Spam Musubi 
What happened??????
Well, he can still get around but he’s been unsteady in his gait being 93 years old. Sure enough, he stumbled in front of his senior assisted living place yesterday. His head clearly hit the pavement and the impact shattered his glasses. His left eye was swollen shut yesterday from what I hear so it’s a slight improvement today. We’ll have to watch for slurred speech, etc…
No, he did not get knogged.
Poor Dad! I’m glad he didn’t get knogged! But a fall like that is just as bad! 😦 I hope he is not hurting bad, or at all!
Oh dear this does not look good.
Yeah… My aunt (the one who received the CGM) had an emergency craniotomy four years ago. While she stumbled, she did not hit her head but it was enough to jar her brain. Since dad hit his head pretty good, we’ll need to keep an eye on him.
He was more disoriented than usual today when I saw him at lunch. He asked several times which “teacher found him”. He thought he was back in high school, it seems.
Awe take good care of him, as I know you will. Dementia is such a hard illness to deal with.
My Mother in-law has advanced Dementia and she has struggles against the gravitational forces like your father. She has had black eyes on several occasions. I call her our little Raccoon because of the dark rings around her eyes.
Dementia is becoming more common now as people live longer and our chemically enhanced diet, yes? How old is she if I may ask? And did she ever get bleeds or slurred speech?
She is eighty years young. And she was on medication to thin her blood that would cause severe bleeding. We had to be very careful with her. She has been taken off that medicine and seems to be doing quite well. Her speech comes and goes. Occasionally she can hold a somewhat clear conversation. I can tell she is saying something but I don’t have a clue what it is. I just say “is that right, I didn’t know that”. Like it was hot gossip. LOL 🙂 Take care and God Bless….
That looks horribly painful. Lucky the glasses didn’t do any damage to his eyes.
That indeed is a positive! But I fear that dad’s “functional” days are nearing an end.
Suggestion? Sports Glasses with the soft frames & plastic lenses. They give more on impact.
Many older people have vertigo problems as the cilia and connecting nerves on their cochlea begin to degrade. My dad falls very often; however, he still has his military training on “tuck & roll” with it. I am beginning to have touches of vertigo due to my abnormally low blood pressure (apparently I am a VERY calm person most of the time, LOL! – but I think the blood thinner effects from my pain medications result in blood pressure drops sometimes).
Somehow I think he will not complain about pain. From what I have learned, he is not that kind of person nor ever was.
If falling becomes or begins to become an issue, you may wish to get soft knee pads and elbow pads for him when he goes out walking, and encourage him to wear sporting gloves to prevent abrasions when and if he falls and tries to catch himself. And while not really needing one, I find a cane helps for ‘sensing’ one’s balance (increase/decrease of pressure on the palm) as well as helping one stay up when things get tipsy.
I do not know if he has the “old man’s shuffle” (my dad does) – but if he drags or shuffles his feet, you may want to work with him by encouraging him to remember his military days and “Lift those heels!” (and toes) off the ground as he walks. This helps ambulatory patients a great deal when they realize they will not trip as much if they lift their toes (and feet!) on uneven sidewalks.
I am sorry to hear he had an accident. Things could have been much worse. The dementia – not much to be done, except to work with him on cognitive exercises and such. Does he ‘play’ video games? Some of those ‘brain training’ games can help (albeit but a little) in staving such things off. (rewiring the brain to use new / good circuits where others are failing).
Capture as much as you can right now – I do miss my grandma. She was a wonderful person, too – and despite her dementia (which progressed to the point she could not remember much of anything) – she was very happy towards the end.
Prayers for your Dad. Keep him safe.
Will keep your dad in my prayers, glad he is alright. My mother in law also had dementia, she refused to use her walker because it “was for old people”, but we did manage to get her to use a cane and that did help. Blessings ~ Patty