Fall leads to broken femur

[Morganthreewheeler]

My wife fell out of bed last Friday and broke her femur, she had a hip hemiarthroplasty operation (ball socket replacement) on Bank holiday Monday at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead where the care and staff have been superb

She starts on Physiotherapy today but I wonder how realistic it will be for her to be able to walk safely again? Before the fall she was only able to walk with a Rollator for short distances and only left the house once in 6 weeks spending 95% of her time in bed

My main concern is that she does not have another fall but conversely she gets out of bed on a regular basis to avoid bed sores and DVT

[Yanno]

Hi there, so sorry that your wife has had a fall. From our experience, there's no reason why your wife shouldn't be able to walk agin. The key thing is to work hard at the physiotherapy. Jackie found walking with a Rollator difficult anyway as it would run away from her! You don't mention a wheelchair at all. Jackie has used a wheelchair for many years now as her balance was so bad. Just getting out of bed into a wheelchair every day is good for keeping some mobility. We get out and about as much as we can - I find the stimulation of doing something different helps Jax overcome some of the fatigue which is inevitable with MSA.

Good luck, I hope it all works out okay and keep the encouragement to do the exercises up.

Take care, Ian

[Morganthreewheeler in reply to Yanno]

Ian thanks for your advice, my wife had her first physio session today and only managed to sit on the side of the bed and was screaming in agony to get there. More pain killers I think are needed

[Diane831]

hi. I’m sorry that your wife is having to go through this. I’m sure that you are on top of it but just want to make sure that all the staff dealing with your wife know what MSA is and how your wife is affected by it. I was a physio on an orthopaedic ward and would never have heard of MSA until later when my husband got it. I used to make sure that there were plenty of MSA leaflets around Geoff’s belongings when he was in hospital and when his speech became affected then I wrote out a sheet about his symptoms and his abilities to give to the nurses and for his medical notes, you don’t want the staff to be aiming at targets that she wasn’t achieving before the fall, but neither do you want them to write her off and not get her as near to pre op status as possible, it will take her longer that the normal pathway

I’m sure your wife’s pain will settle a bit quickly and she will cope better, but obviously every time she gets upright sitting on the side of the bed or standing upright, even if it takes equipment, is really positive for her balance and strength and all her other systems, bowels, blood pressure etc.

my best wishes to you both for this difficult time. Do talk to your MSA nurse at the Trust if you are concerned about how it’s going, they will listen to your concerns and give you advice.

Diane

[Morganthreewheeler in reply to Diane831]

Diane, thanks for your detailed advice and the team at the MSA Trust have been fantastic

The staff at the hospital are also great but as they change they need to be kept informed as to all the aspects of MSA hence our 24 hour vigil at her bedside with my 2 wonderful children

One positive aspect of being in hospital is the fact my wife realises the benefits of indwelling catheters compared to disposable ones

Thanks again

Philip

[Diane831]

yes we had that with the catheter. My husband was admitted with pneumonia and was catheterised after months of intermittent catheters and the stuck on ones that men can wear, but twist and leak sometimes! Then as they were getting ready to discharge him they were going to remove the in dwelling one and I said “I don’t think so!!” With his agreement of course, and it did make life easier, just get well informed about how to watch for blockages and infections and where to get help if needed, and then be free!!