Falling down at an old age - lost a friend recently

[aja8888]

One of my ROMEO group members, a widower who was in his early to mid 80's and fairly healthy, had a fall when going into a local eatery about 10 days ago. He hit face first on the concrete and cut up his nose and forehead, but did not get medical attention at the time. He went home and had a bad headache and his sister convinced him to go to the ER.

At the ER, they rebandaged his wounds and did a cat scan of his brain, which didn't indicate any issues. Since he was not feeling all that great (we don't exactly know what he was feeling like at that time), they put him in for overnight observation and essentially admitted him for a few days (ended up a week). We visited him a time or two and he was anxious to get out and resume life. The day before his discharge, he contracted pneumonia and was kept in the hospital. This was last Wednesday and by Friday morning, he passed away. So sudden...

Point in case, falling at an old age is not good and hospitals are full of germs/viruses/etc that can take out an older person.

 

[Ronstar]

Sorry for your loss AJA. I get reminded by my doc yearly that old folks demise many times begins with a fall. A friend's mother died from falling down her basement stairs. I guess we need to be like mules and watch the ground where our feet are going.

 

[skyking1]

This story is sad, and all too common. I am sorry for the loss of your friend.

 

[aja8888]

One point I forgot to make was that he (Robert) was pretty frail above the waist and had no significant arm strength since he did not "work out" at a gym or use weights to strengthen his arms and upper body. We speculate that if he was stronger and had more ability to break his fall and not hit full face first, he may have been able to avoid the whole issue of going into the hospital.

Muscle mass goes away quickly as you age if you don't exercise the muscle groups.

 

[Rianne]

One of my ROMEO group members, a widower who was in his early to mid 80's and fairly healthy, had a fall when going into a local eatery about 10 days ago. He hit face first on the concrete and cut up his nose and forehead, but did not get medical attention at the time. He went home and had a bad headache and his sister convinced him to go to the ER.

At the ER, they rebandaged his wounds and did a cat scan of his brain, which didn't indicate any issues. Since he was not feeling all that great (we don't exactly know what he was feeling like at that time), they put him in for overnight observation and essentially admitted him for a few days (ended up a week). We visited him a time or two and he was anxious to get out and resume life. The day before his discharge, he contracted pneumonia and was kept in the hospital. This was last Wednesday and by Friday morning, he passed away. So sudden...

Point in case, falling at an old age is not good and hospitals are full of germs/viruses/etc that can take out an older person.

My bold. I think this is unavoidable. Go to an ED, hospital to visit a friend. Not so much with a Dr appointment in an office building. We sat in the ED for almost 6 hours, this is a major healthcare system...one of the top in the midwest. It was heartbreaking to witness patients coming in by ambulance, on foot, dropped off who were devastatingly sick. After 6 hours, there were 10 people ahead of me. We left. Did not see an ED dr. I thought whatever infection or how sick I felt was not worth it. I would end up with something worse. I took my chances and went home. For me, it turned out ok. For the lady who's bubbling grease cooking pot that blew up in her face, had welts, her eyes and face as red as could be, sitting and sobbing, doubled over for hours. I could not believe it. And she was just one. There were many.

 

[pacergal]

condolences on the death of your friend.

As a nurse, I have seen all too many elderly who have fallen, slide into frailer health while "recovering", usually to end up in a nursing home for further recovery and end up passing.

re: germs in medical facilities, yep. Any place where people congregate is going to have more germs floating around. Hospitals and medical offices (and crowded stores during the holidays) are where we still wear N95 masks, and sanitize hands well after leaving. Neither one of us has had a cold/flu episode in years.

 

[Dtail]

Sorry for your loss. Appears more common than is talked about.

 

[Gremlin]

So sorry to hear this. Agree whole heartedly about the importance of muscle mass. I also agree with pacergal. ANY place with lots of people are full of germs, however hospitals are definitely one of the worst!

 

[aaronc879]

Point in case, falling at an old age is not good and hospitals are full of germs/viruses/etc that can take out an older person.

Years ago, I had a Great Aunt who fell and went into the hospital for a broken hip. While in the hospital she got pneumonia and died from that while still in the hospital.

 

[frayne]

Sorry for your loss. I remember my late grandfather saying that hospitals are places where people go to die. I realize there is more truth to that statement the older one gets.

 

[skipro33]

It really saddens me to hear of another in that age group, dying because they sought care instead of not receiving care. Our medical system in the USA is totally.... lost. (I had other words, but I don't want to have another time-out)
Especially considering the money it costs for medical coverage beyond just the basic Medicare. This system seems class-based; the rich and famous would never, EVER be caught sitting in an ER waiting room for any amount of time, let alone hours. Our elected officials would also never be in that position to be waiting for emergency care.
For the rest of us, I offer this quote from US News and World Report; "Within any given community in a given year, one-quarter of the population will seek care in the emergency department. And in states and areas that have a high volume of tourists, the percentage is even higher,"
Wow!
I had no idea that many people were either that sick or injured that 25% of the population visits an ER each year! As far as staffing, I've read that teaching schools and hospitals limit enrollment in the USA by big pharma, so many students study abroad. The thought is; by controlling the number of licensed practitioners, you control the costs. Campuses such as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and University of Pennsylvania are given huge endowments from the pharmaceutical companies. Harvard alone was given almost $12M last year. We are all aware, or should be, that doctors are being given meals, speaking fees, golf trips, etc. by Pfizer and Merck, but now professors and instructors are legally on the dole as well. My son is a professor at a private university and over Christmas opened my eyes to what's been going on. Of Harvard’s 8,900 professors and lecturers, 1,600 admit that either they or a family member have had some kind of business link to drug companies, sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, that could bias their teaching or research.
I'll quit for now, but next time you are in any medical facility, just look around and see how many company branded pens, mugs, notepads, magazines clutter the waiting rooms and reception desks.

EDIT
And I just want to add, my hard feelings are a result of my mom dying from a fall at age 74 waiting in an ER. SEVENTY FOUR! December 28th, 2007. We still miss and love you, Mom. I think of you often and feel you near me many, many times! Thanks for looking over me.

 

[Car-Guy]

Yep. DM died as a result of a hospital stay after a fall. Not that uncommon I guess.

 

[jazz4cash]

One point I forgot to make was that he (Robert) was pretty frail above the waist and had no significant arm strength since he did not "work out" at a gym or use weights to strengthen his arms and upper body. We speculate that if he was stronger and had more ability to break his fall and not hit full face first, he may have been able to avoid the whole issue of going into the hospital.

Muscle mass goes away quickly as you age if you don't exercise the muscle groups.

I think this is a good point. Just routine strengthening exercises may be all that is required. I do worry also about having good enough reactions to actially use those muscles to break your fall. It resonated when you said his face made contact.

 

[Music Lover]

One point I forgot to make was that he (Robert) was pretty frail above the waist and had no significant arm strength since he did not "work out" at a gym or use weights to strengthen his arms and upper body. We speculate that if he was stronger and had more ability to break his fall and not hit full face first, he may have been able to avoid the whole issue of going into the hospital.

Muscle mass goes away quickly as you age if you don't exercise the muscle groups.

When I was younger I used to lift weights to be healthy and also look good with my shirt off.

I still lift weights, but there's a third reason now that I'm older...to have the muscle mass to protect myself in a fall, and to have the leg strength to catch myself if I trip to maybe prevent that fall.

 

[aja8888]

When I was younger I used to lift weights to be healthy and also look good with my shirt off.

I still lift weights, but there's a third reason now that I'm older...to have the muscle mass to protect myself in a fall, and to have the leg strength to catch myself if I trip to maybe prevent that fall.

 

[Koolau]

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Death comes to us all, but we're rarely ready to accept the loss of our friends.

A friend of ours was in his early 70's. He played tennis several times per week and was in great shape. He was in much better shape than I am. He fell at home, got a brain bleed and was in the hospital for 2 months before he died. Though he regained consciousness and was in rehab, nothing apparently could be done to save him. His "training" apparently couldn't overcome his brain injury. Very sad.

 

[RunningBum]

My bold. I think this is unavoidable. Go to an ED, hospital to visit a friend. Not so much with a Dr appointment in an office building. We sat in the ED for almost 6 hours, this is a major healthcare system...one of the top in the midwest. It was heartbreaking to witness patients coming in by ambulance, on foot, dropped off who were devastatingly sick. After 6 hours, there were 10 people ahead of me. We left. Did not see an ED dr. I thought whatever infection or how sick I felt was not worth it. I would end up with something worse. I took my chances and went home. For me, it turned out ok. For the lady who's bubbling grease cooking pot that blew up in her face, had welts, her eyes and face as red as could be, sitting and sobbing, doubled over for hours. I could not believe it. And she was just one. There were many.

Is an ED the same as an ER? I don't follow your story. You went to visit a friend in an "ED, hospital" and waited 6 hours and didn't see a doctor? Why would you see a doctor when visiting a friend? But then I read you were sick, why would you visit a friend if sick?

Seems like a different story from the OP. Their friend wasn't in too bad of shape but caught pneumonia in the hospital. You saw people coming in already in very rough shape.

Not picking on you, just trying to understand your message.

 

[Koolau]

ER's use triage. I notice that I got pretty quick service when I went in with chest pains that turned out to be a 90+% blockage. Not so much with a badly bruised knee some years later. YMMV

 

[Sojourner]

The day before his discharge, he contracted pneumonia and was kept in the hospital. This was last Wednesday and by Friday morning, he passed away. So sudden...

Point in case, falling at an old age is not good and hospitals are full of germs/viruses/etc that can take out an older person,

The mention of pneumonia makes me wonder if he'd been vaccinated or not, and whether that might have saved him. His sad story might serve as a good reminder for all of us to get our shots, if we haven't yet done so. I found this blurb on the Yale Medicine website:

The pneumococcal vaccine is estimated to be at least 50% effective in reducing invasive pneumococcal disease; it may be even more effective depending on the age and health of the recipient.

 

[ivinsfan]

Some of these things are unknowable aren't they, sorry you lost your friend aja. I suspect you are not getting the whole story. Something was going on for him to get a multiple day admission for a slip and fall. Observation admissions usually get kicked after 24 hours because of insurance.

Sometimes patients with impaired hearts or lungs worsen after several days in the hospital. Laying in a hospital bed for days on end isn't good for anyone and can cause issues like this to worsen. I know from DH after his heart surgeries this is one reason they encourage you to move and walk as soon as possible. I've found the term pneumonia gets tossed around pretty loosely. MY FIL got that diagnosis and the issue ended up being fluid in his lungs from a heart issue.

I've only posted one time about my 67 year old brother dying in the ICU last Spring. It's too raw..But he started out pretty healthy with a possible bowel issue...went to surgery, after surgery had heart rhythm issues which ended up in a stent placement. He ended up in the ICU for several weeks and eventually died of sepsis..is "sepsis" the catch all for "we have no idea what happened or why it happened"? I don't know....but I do know whatever the reason for these types of death, the heartbreak and the "what actually happened" questions are very very real.

 

[Calico]

The mention of pneumonia makes me wonder if he'd been vaccinated or not, and whether that might have saved him. His sad story might serve as a good reminder for all of us to get our shots, if we haven't yet done so. I found this blurb on the Yale Medicine website:

I really don't think blaming/shaming the patient is the appropriate response here. Maybe save the PSA for another day.

 

[ivinsfan]

Calico I think it's normal for people to think, that won't happen to me if I do X because maybe the person who suffered didn't do X. In fact it's all just stuff we say to ourselves to make us feel less vulnerable..the fact is we are all vulnerable ....sometimes stuff just happens. Also since we weren't actually in the hospital room, we don't know what happened do we?

 

[imjustawarrior]

Sorry for your loss.

Just today we were having lunch with our neighbor who turns 70 next month. She said she is worried about falling. It seems like falling is such a serious issue. Seems like this could be an area for some innovation.

 

[aja8888]

Some of these things are unknowable aren't they, sorry you lost your friend aja. I suspect you are not getting the whole story. Something was going on for him to get a multiple day admission for a slip and fall. Observation admissions usually get kicked after 24 hours because of insurance.

Sometimes patients with impaired hearts or lungs worsen after several days in the hospital. Laying in a hospital bed for days on end isn't good for anyone and can cause issues like this to worsen. I know from DH after his heart surgeries this is one reason they encourage you to move and walk as soon as possible. I've found the term pneumonia gets tossed around pretty loosely. MY FIL got that diagnosis and the issue ended up being fluid in his lungs from a heart issue.

I've only posted one time about my 67 year old brother dying in the ICU last Spring. It's too raw..But he started out pretty healthy with a possible bowel issue...went to surgery, after surgery had heart rhythm issues which ended up in a stent placement. He ended up in the ICU for several weeks and eventually died of sepsis..is "sepsis" the catch all for "we have no idea what happened or why it happened"? I don't know....but I do know whatever the reason for these types of death, the heartbreak and the "what actually happened" questions are very very real.

Clearly as just friends, we don't know the whole story as no Doc would tell us even if we asked. His sister may not even know since I doubt she had a POA as she was somewhat distant from him. Robert was not an active guy who was slim, somewhat frail, and did not participate in any exercise events like walking with the guys like a couple of days a week like I do. He wasn't in our golf group either. My gut feeling is the pneumonia quickly turned into fluid in his lungs and he went quickly after that.

 

[Ian S]

Falls among the elderly are deadly. On her 100th birthday, my mother fell and hit her head hard resulting in severe brain bleeding. Nothing to be done. The last time I had a bad fall six years ago, my arms protected my face but in so doing, I ended up with a torn rotator cuff that required surgery to repair. I guess that's better than dying but it's still a bad outcome. My daily walking helps keep my legs in shape so I'm probably less likely to fall. Plus, I recently read about some research that wearing bifocals or progressives increases the risk of falls for the elderly. Because my vision post cataract surgery is good enough for walking if not driving and reading, I no longer wear my progressive glasses when out on our daily walks.