A broken bone can cause parts of life to come to a temporary halt, especially if it is a major break. It can make doing the simplest of tasks difficult if not impossible. For your elderly loved one, the recovery might be longer than either of you thought it would be. Here are 5 tips for helping your senior following a major broken bone and how 24-hour home care can help.
Seniors and Broken Bone Recovery
Because bone density changes as a person ages, a bone that only takes a few weeks to heal for a younger person, may take twice as long for your elderly loved one. The amount of stem cells in the bone marrow also decreases, creating a longer timeframe for even simple fractures to heal. Combine those natural age-related factors with other possible health conditions such as osteoporosis or diabetes, and your loved one may have a longer road ahead of her than you originally thought.
Five Tips to Help Your Elderly Loved One Recover from a Broken Bone
Make the home easier to traverse.
Safety is paramount as your loved one recovers. If the broken bone is the foot, leg, or hip, she’ll need to have the flooring safe in every room that she plans to use so make sure all clutter is gone, and rugs are either removed or securely affixed to the floor. Provide walkers or canes to help her travel from place to place with support and offer assistance on stairs or uneven flooring.
Make mealtime simpler.
Preparing a meal with a broken wrist or arm can be difficult, especially if is her strong side. A broken leg or foot can make it difficult to stand at a counter to prepare a meal or carry a meal to the dining room table. Meal delivery services can help as well as having friends and family supply prepared meals that she just needs to heat and eat.
Provide needed transportation.
Just about every broken bone gets in the way of driving. Relying on driving services like Uber can quickly add up so talk to family and friends to see who can help with transportation needs as she heals.
Get help with home chores.
There will be chores she cannot do but that cannot wait such as laundry and garbage removal. A home care provider or a friend can help her with these chores until she can do them again.
Build up body strength with proper diet and exercise.
While rest is important, so is maintaining body strength. A healthy diet and regular safe exercise will help her body stay strong as it recovers.
Does your Loved One Need 24-hour Home Care Help?
If you are unable to stay with your loved one as she recovers, one option to assist her with daily activities is always having a 24-hour home care provider in her home. With 24-hour home care assistance, your loved one will have a rotating staff stay with her (but not live with her) so that someone is always on the premises and ready to help as needed. That can mean she’ll have help with bathing each evening, using the toilet in the middle of the night, or getting dressed in the morning. With 24-hour home care, someone is there to help when other services or people are not available.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring 24-hour home care in Anderson, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116.
Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia, and the surrounding areas.
- Five Tips for Recovering After a Major Broken Bone - November 26, 2024
