The biggest challenge with my dads stroke is that he has anosognosia, an unawareness of his condition. As I type this we are 8.5 months post stroke and he still does not know he is disabled.
He thinks he works, drives, walks, etc. etc. I have signs hanging all around the house, which he ignores because "those are old"
So I live in constant offense
Overtime I've found ways to prevent falls, we've only had 2 at home thankfully, and that was all it took to adapt.
His bed is equip with the longest
bed rail I could find, which covers nearly the whole length of the bed. We also use a
roll belt restraint, so he can roll around and toss and turn, but he can not get up. Well.... With some effort he can and has gotten it off, but that's why I also have a
video baby monitor and
bed alarm as well. It may seem extreme, but, after 1 midnight fall and trip to the ER, this is what we have.
Outside of the bedroom is a little more tricky. I keep the video monitor on him at all times so if I need to do dishes or just get away from him for a minute I can still see if he's trying to get up. For his wheelchair I use a
gait belt fastened in the back to buckle him into the chair. He can still get it off, but I can get to him before he does. On the couch, we have a power recliner which I just cut the power off using a
power strip he can't reach. We also have this
clip on fall cord, like the safety cord you would use on a treadmill, if he moves to far it will pull off and an alarm will sound. Finally, not that he uses it, we have a
call button for him to press when he wants to get up.
If you have any home fall risk prevention methods I'd love to hear about them! Preventing falls in patients who already have brain injuries is crucial. All of our progress could be undone with one little slip.
