Mother was in Assisted Living for about a month. A week ago Saturday, she was not able to get up, even with the help of two assistants. She went to the Emergency Room, was admitted and she's been there 9 days.
After more MRIs, CAT scans, etc. they found she had a lumbar compression fracture on L-4 (yes, that means she has a broken back). There was no fall but sometimes when older bones are so fragile, even a turn or twist can cause a break.
Friday morning they did a procedure called a Kyphoplasty, where they go into the broken vertebrae and inflate a balloon to press the fracture back in place. Then they fill that space with a special cement. This has helped many people get relief from pain. Click the words for more info: 1.Kyphoplasty definition 2. Kyphoplasty is.. 3. Kyphoplasty video
She slept the whole day Friday and looked peaceful. Yesterday, she was confused but was upset because she knew she was confused. That's a result of the pain meds building up in her system and they're already cutting back on those. It appears they'll leave the pain patch but will be using Tylenol for additional pain if that will do the job.
I feel relieved that they DID something. I was afraid they'd go the "brace/therapy" routine again. Things are set up for her to return to the retirement center to their Skilled Nursing section for a while. We don't yet know when that will be.
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