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My wife took a nasty fall. Bruised ribs, sprained wrist and she broke both ankles.

Top Cat said:
She gets 2 new casts Thursday. She is able to pivot on her left cast, no weight allowed in the right. In the next few weeks she goes to a boot on her left, cast stays on the right for 3 more weeks, then a boot. Subsequently she will not be driving for some time. When she transitions to a boot on her left, we will try a scooter.

Each day it takes abut an hour or so for me to get her ready for her day. Starting with making her a latte. I then transfer her to a wheelchair from her hospital bed. Wheel her into the bathroom. Help her clean up. Change her incontinence underwear. Change out the bedding, prepare her lift chair. Make her breakfast, set up her "Command Center". So she has access to phones, computers (work and home laptops), TV remote, lunch and snack items etc. Make sure she has plenty of water. Then I head off to work myself.

When I return we repeat some of the same steps with a bath/shower every 2nd day. That is quite a challenge.

Rinse later repeat. My in-laws come over during the day to freshen up her water and food.

No caregiver so far. And I am getting worn out. But the lift chair has been the game changer. My back is feeling much better

It could be a lot worse. She will mend.

We were to leave for a month long trip to Europe on the 10th of July. I am thankful we bought travel insurance.
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Your insurance may pay for home health.. she qualifies. That should get her physical therapy, occupational therapy and a bath aid.. to help you out.

She can be a lot more functional on her own.. most likely.. If she has a drop arm beside commode (insurance will pay for outside the bathroom.. then when she is better you remove the bucket and put it over the toilet to give her arms to push off with) .. with a wheelchair that has removable or swing away arms... she can transfer pretty much by herself. Especially if she is allows to weight bear on her left leg. that way she can do her own toileting without the need for you.. or for incontinence pads (except for accidents).

A transfer bench would make things easier for the bath/shower. If you put in a handheld shower head (not hard to do).. then she can be more independent.

The more things she does now for herself.. the easier her recovery.

Look into the home health option of your insurance. It probably does pay. Don't say.. "home care".. or "home aides".. because your insurance probably doesn;t pay for that. BUT if she needs nursing, PT or OT services in the home. i.e. home HEALTH.. she will probably qualify.. and that could be a big help. (you will need a doctors order for most insurances to pay)
 
jaeger19 said:
Your insurance may pay for home health.. she qualifies. That should get her physical therapy, occupational therapy and a bath aid.. to help you out.

She can be a lot more functional on her own.. most likely.. If she has a drop arm beside commode (insurance will pay for outside the bathroom.. then when she is better you remove the bucket and put it over the toilet to give her arms to push off with) .. with a wheelchair that has removable or swing away arms... she can transfer pretty much by herself. Especially if she is allows to weight bear on her left leg. that way she can do her own toileting without the need for you.. or for incontinence pads (except for accidents).

A transfer bench would make things easier for the bath/shower. If you put in a handheld shower head (not hard to do).. then she can be more independent.

The more things she does now for herself.. the easier her recovery.

Look into the home health option of your insurance. It probably does pay. Don't say.. "home care".. or "home aides".. because your insurance probably doesn;t pay for that. BUT if she needs nursing, PT or OT services in the home. i.e. home HEALTH.. she will probably qualify.. and that could be a big help. (you will need a doctors order for most insurances to pay)
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Been there, done that. They will not pay.
 
Top Cat said:
She's 55. And I am still working. So is she.
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I wish you the best. A broken leg on older people can turn into a real nightmare. I had friends that had diabetes and it was the start of the end for them. Don't take nothing for granted.

I fell down the cellar steps and was laid up for 2 years. If you think something is wrong keep going to different doctors until it is fixed. I did not go for x-rays until I couldn't hardly walk a month later. Then they missed diagnosed the problem. I had a stress fracture in the leg I had the steel rod from the hip replacement in. They could not see the crack because it lined up with the steel rod. After six months of therapy and lots more X-rays they finally saw bone growth which they thought was bone cancer. More and more tests and months go by and finally the bone doctor decided to go in and take a look. He found the cracked bone which could not heal because I was walking on it. I walked and did strength training with a broken leg for almost a year. After a year they finally found the problem and took me off my feet and let it heal. But all was not well. My leg was still giving me trouble. Then they found an aneurism in my knee. Had that fixed. Now it is 2 years later and I have put on 80lbs. and my legs are weak as hell from the injuries, surgery, and lack of use. Now I am rebuilding the strength in my legs and trying to lose 80lbs. The good new is I actually feel great and I think everything is fixed. The bad new is it could take another year to lose the weight and regain the strength in my legs.

What is crazy is my legs feel so terrible until I have walked about 1/4 mile then It seems like they start feeling great. That first 1/4 mile is such a struggle but then all of a sudden I can walk several miles with ease. It is like you have to get past a certain point to start feeling better.
 
Top Cat said:
We have a prescription for it. But she isn't well enough with her boot to do so just yet.
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forerunner.jpg
 
Top Cat said:
Been there, done that. They will not pay.
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What is the specific reason? you do not have home health coverage at all?

The reason I say this is because IF you have home health coverage.. you wife SHOULD qualify for home health. Based on what you are saying. The problem is.. the insurance companies often tell you something is not covered when it is.. IF you have the right paperwork/documentation/orders.

If you don't have coverage.. I would suggest that you look at getting a bedside commode.. you can often find them at used medical supply stores or second hand stores.

It will make her transfers for bathroom easier during the day. She can stand pivot using a walker to the commode right next to her chair. And then you just have to empty the bucket.

https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Folding-Bedside-Commode/dp/B001HP7AQE

A transfer tub bench can make life easier for you.

https://www.bettymills.com/adjustable-transfer-bench-727142501?utm_source=cpc-strat&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=parts&utm_keyword=MON98283500&utm_content=Medical&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoN2_7trR2wIVjMhkCh2R5wZzEAQYAyABEgIW3fD_BwE
 
jaeger19 said:
What is the specific reason? you do not have home health coverage at all?

The reason I say this is because IF you have home health coverage.. you wife SHOULD qualify for home health. Based on what you are saying. The problem is.. the insurance companies often tell you something is not covered when it is.. IF you have the right paperwork/documentation/orders.

If you don't have coverage.. I would suggest that you look at getting a bedside commode.. you can often find them at used medical supply stores or second hand stores.

It will make her transfers for bathroom easier during the day. She can stand pivot using a walker to the commode right next to her chair. And then you just have to empty the bucket.

https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Folding-Bedside-Commode/dp/B001HP7AQE

A transfer tub bench can make life easier for you.

https://www.bettymills.com/adjustable-transfer-bench-727142501?utm_source=cpc-strat&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=parts&utm_keyword=MON98283500&utm_content=Medical&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoN2_7trR2wIVjMhkCh2R5wZzEAQYAyABEgIW3fD_BwE
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Already have both. They are life savers.
 
Top Cat said:
We almost took her to the 4th of July parade today and entered her. ha ha
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Six weeks down; sounds like thing are progressing in the right direction. :peace
 
Woohoo! Casts are off!!! Now she has two braces and a walker. She's still downstairs, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and it's not the Burlington Northern I hope!

I am so happy I bought travel insurance. 60 bucks saved us 1500.00ish. We were slated to go to Europe for a month on the 10th. We backed it up to late August. Spain, Portugal, South of France and Italy.Maybe a little time in Croatia as well. My wife is fluent in Italian and Spanish. She used to live in Italy...so I have a tour guide...

Thanks for all the advice and kind words everyone! It wasn't fun, but she's mending. Baby steps!
 
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