She Sits Up Too Fast: Catch the Bed-Edge Wobble Before the First Step

The night trip does not start at the bathroom door. It starts when she sits up. The bed is soft, the room is dark, and the floor feels a long way down. Many families only notice the fall when it reaches the hallway, but the warning is usually in the first half minute on the edge of the mattress.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

What to watch at 3am

Turn on the light before she moves, and stay in view while she sits. Watch for a long pause before she stands, hands pressed into the mattress, a head that drops or tilts, a pale or grey look, or a remark that she feels light, swimmy, or strange. Watch her feet too. If they are not flat on the floor and she is reaching for something to hold, she is not ready to stand yet.

Do these things in order. First, keep her seated and let her catch her breath without rushing her. Second, sit beside her or stand where she can reach you, but do not pull her up by the arm, because a pull throws her weight forward at the moment she is least steady. Third, ask her to stand only after she says she is ready and her feet are flat. Fourth, walk the first few steps with her, with one hand on her gait belt if the family already has one, and keep the light on until she is back in bed or in the bathroom.

If she faints, cannot get up, has chest pain, or seems confused in a way that is new, call emergency services first and deal with the walk later. A fall at that moment is not a bathroom problem.

What to write down

Write down the time, how long she sat before she stood, which hand she grabbed, what she said, and whether she made it to the bathroom. Write down whether the light was on and whether her feet were on the floor. If it happened once, that is a note. If it happens every night, that is a pattern the physician needs to see.

Bring these notes to the next visit and ask the physician whether the sitting-up moment needs its own look. That question belongs to the physician, not to you, and a clear note makes the answer faster.