My Mom

Mom's recent experiences in falling: For years, she's had some kind of arthritis somewhere. At one point or another, every kind everywhere. So when she falls, injury occurs. Last time, she was admitted to the hospital while they examined her back. First few days the word according to mom was that they'd be doing surgery tomorrow. Finally, it was no surgery at all. She got to spend a week in the rehab unit where they said she did wonderfully. She sent me to her apartment to get some clothes and I counted 20 bottles of assorted psychiatric, pain, anti-inflammatory, cholesterol, and thyroid drugs plus stuff I don't know anything about. After talking to a couple of friends from the building and seeing that, it's no wonder she can't walk! I should have been suspicious when she called and asked if I had any tranquilizers a few weeks ago. Now, I have NEVER had tranquilizers nor given my mom ANY of my prescription medication. Well, while she was at the hospital she sounded pretty good, but after a day or two back home, it's back to the slurred speech. Today the gist of what she said was that she fell getting into her lift chair. It's a special chair that when you press a button, it lifts up to help you get out of it. She tries to get in it while it's in the lifted position. I told her to put the chair back down when she got out and just try getting into when it was down. Like a regular chair. The elderly, spaced-out mentally ill parent can be a source of frustration.