Fall #2

My phone rang just as I was readying to turn it off in the movie theater.  It was the Nursing Director, and she was notifying me that Mom had just fallen. "She seems fine.  Vital signs are stable, and she is walking OK. She says that she hit her head, so we are putting ice on it."  She reassured me that Mom was OK, and Mom also said that she was all right, just "a little shook up."  I gave the Director Tom's cell phone, notified Tom, and stayed for the movie with my 7 year old neighbor.  Tom went to see Mom after work and stayed for dinner; we came over after the movie.
   Head injuries are tough.  One of the signs you look for is confusion; that is also a hallmark of Alzheimer's.  She was definitely more confused when we saw her; but it was also nighttime, a time that we don't usually see her.  I took the staff's word that she was "her usual nighttime self" and headed home-- I would come back this morning and reassess.
  Mom was sitting at breakfast when I arrived, her usual happy self.  She has a rather lovely purple bruise on her left temple, but is otherwise fine.  Her gait has returned to normal, and she is still her happy self, thank Goodness!