General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I am still in a state of shock [View all]srobertss
(261 posts)about the treatment your mother suffered. I know three women whose broken hip went undetected until the pain pushed the doctors into looking more closely. My mother was one of them. But the mistreatment your mother received in addition to that is truly outrageous. My mothers fracture wasnt so bad that it immbolized her, she was still able to use a walker and she healed. But the mother of a close friend of mine just passed away, with the fracture having gone undetected from a fall that occurred 6 months ago. They looked at all kinds of things to try to figure out what was causing the pain and finally, just two weeks ago, they found micro fractures, put her on palliative care, and she very quickly passed away. It feels like the morphine caused her to relax enough that she let go of life.
So this leads me to assume that these fractures are difficult to diagnose. These cases were all in different areas, rural and urban.
I am 65 and twisted my ankle and went to immediate care. Sitting in a wheelchair as an older woman, I was suddenly struck by the feeling of vulnerability of being an older woman in the medical system. It was a relief to realize how temporary my situation was, but my day will come.