Humpty Dumpty had a great fall from a wall and could not be fixed even with all the resources of a King!
Closer home, Mrs Dutt, all of 65 years of age, had a fall. She was trying to collect a few flowers for her daily puja, the July earth was a bit slippery, and she slipped! Broke her right wrist area. Next came the pain, and then the panic. She lived with her husband who needs care for multiple diseases. Arko, their only son, lived in Bengaluru. Who was going to look after this broken lady and her ailing old husband, as Arko couldn’t come back at a moment’s notice?
I thought that she was unlucky till I got a call from a General Physician. Dr Ganguly, one of his old patients (diabetes, heart problems and recently a bit of kidney damage too) fell at home, tripping over a loose-fitting chappal. Unlike Mrs Dutt, this man could not get up and had to be carried to bed. His daughter married and settled about 30 km away, arrived within two hours (Mrs Ganguly left us last year). The x-ray showed a hip fracture that would need a major operation. Mrs Dutt could move about, with pain medicine, but this man was bedridden and in pain because most of the good ‘pain-killers’ are bad for damaged kidneys. He was taking blood-thinning medicines so the operation HAD to be postponed till the effect of that went away, in about 6 days. Ganguly did not take care of his diabetes properly, so he had high sugar AND high HbA1C. Complicating things further, after the operation, Ganguly would have a much higher chance of infection (compared to Mrs Dutt) because he was diabetic, AND a smoker!
We Orthopedicians see patients fall every day. Any fall can break a bone or two, but in case of the elderly, chances of fall are more and chances of breaking bones even more. Broken bones in old age bring about sudden, unexpected added expense and suffering. Even if covered by insurance, pain of the patient and hassle of his/her family can be frustrating.
Can something PREVENT fall? After all, we all know that prevention is better (and cheaper) than cure! [Talking about cure… even in the big brother USA, 25 to 30% of hip fracture patients DIE WITHIN ONE YEAR of the fall …yes, even after treatment of the fracture].
Fortunately, in recent times, there has been research in this field…how to prevent fall. Scientists have identified important items that make an elderly prone to fall. Many of these are MODIFIABLE. I mean, if you travel in an auto and it takes a digbaazi you will fall (there are ways to prevent the digbazzi too, but that’s another issue), or if your grandson pushes you hard just for fun or because he is angry, you fall. One can’t really prevent these falls. But in case you have an eye problem AND you have just a small night-lamp in the bathroom, then that is a scary situation for which you are responsible. Your physical fitness is also very important. If a fit person slips, his reflex and strength will ensure that the fall does not end up in broken bones. An unfit person will fall like a sack of potatoes!
Nowadays we can identify the risk factors in your body, your home, your car / transport and even your paara. Experts can teach you tips and tricks to avoid trips and slips. If you cooperate, you can avoid fall. Learning to prevent fall is not hard, and not costly. It can save trouble for you, AND your loving family members too.
By the way, both Mrs Dutt and Mr Ganguly were operated on and are now recovering. Arko got the treatment of his mother covered by his office. No such luck for Ganguly. His hip replacement expenses took away almost two lakhs of bank balance, including physiotherapy visits. Plus the hardship faced by his daughter, shuttling between two families.
Whether you need a fall-prevention assessment and training, it’s up to you.
Humpty can be fixed nowadays, okay. But what if he didn’t fall from the wall at all?
