My mother in law fell the othr day, in trying to stop her from hitting the floor hard I had to grab onto her arms and set her down gently. In doing that her skin ripped on her arm. Her skin is like paper. She will not leave the wrapping on and we can not use a band aid because it will pull her skin off. She has ripped her skin 10X worse than it was, it now looks like a mangled piece of meat.
I took her to her doctors yesterday and they told me we had to restrain her, so she would not hurt herself worse. The wound now has to be looked at by a specialist. We tried those mitts but she took them off and started taking off the bandage. We had to tie her down last night three times.
It is a horrible situation, but I thinkn the mind protects us from the reality of it, she said thank you I love you when I left the last time. She thinks she is in a hospital. I just don't know if I can continue to do that to her again. I am at my wits end. She doesn't understand any of it, because she has no recollection of her behavior. What is the best way to help her out without tying her up? any ideas?
Where is your MIL in her health? If she needs to be restrained, that's awful for you and for her, and it seems there should be some other way.
Should she be in a nursing home? Should she be under hospice care either at home or in a nursing home? Can her arm be splinted and wrapped so she can't undo the bandage?
Can you emotionally handle restraining her like this? I know these are just more questions, but you really need someone who is right there and knows elders.
Please talk with a geriatrician or someone who specializes in elders, if you haven't. You need some professionals here to help you figure out what can be done for her. You shouldn't have to go through this and neither should she.
Please let us know how you do.
Carol