It has been a long time since Dad has fallen. However, over the last few years, Dad has had quite a few falls. All of them were a result of Dad trying to walk by himself when no one else was around. In most cases, he was checked over at the Redcliffe Hospital as a precaution. Fortunately, in all but one case, there were no permanent injuries or unusual declines in cognitive ability.
The clipped video below shows one of Dad’s falls during the COVID lockdowns. The photos are of two other incidents.
WARNING: Some people may find the following videos/photos upsetting. All wounds were quickly treated by the RN. The bruise on his head was checked by Redcliff Hospital. All have completely healed.
In that one case of permanent injury, Dad fell and fractured his finger. He was taken to Redcliffe Hospital. There was a high risk the required surgery/general anesthesia would accelerate Dad’s Parkinson’s. The alternative was to let the finger heal by itself, plus a little hand therapy. While there was a low chance of pain, and his general hand grip would remain roughly the same, he would lose a small amount of function in the middle-to-upper portion of that finger. Dad heard everything first-hand. The doctor and I made sure he understood the decision he had to make. Greg was mainly concerned with how Dad felt about things. Ultimately, Dad chose the latter option. The doctor agreed it was the safer option. There have been no issues with his finger since then.
The photo below shows his fractured and swollen finger BEFORE going to the hospital.
Dad has more or less stopped trying to walk around all by himself. Nonetheless, Regis has placed a pressure mat and infrared movement detector next to his bed. If he steps on the pressure mat or crosses the infrared beam, the call buzzer is activated. This is not a perfect solution, but it increases the probability of getting to him sooner.