Some night falls are preceded by a pause that looks harmless. She sits on the edge of the bed for a long time before she stands, or she grips the bed rail for the first few steps, or she has to sit back down halfway down the hall. Those are early signs that a trip is going wrong. They are easy to dismiss because she gets up anyway. Write them down now, because the pattern only shows up across several nights.
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What the pause looks like
Notice the time she sits after waking and before she stands, and the first few steps after that. Is she still sitting much longer than the trip itself takes? Does she say the room is moving, that she feels lightheaded, or that her legs feel heavy? Does she stand up quickly or slowly? Does she need a hand on the bed frame, the wall, or the door frame before her first step? Does the pause happen after every trip or only on some nights? A clock with a second hand is enough to time it, and a notebook beside the bed is enough to record it.
Keep the record simple
Use one line per night and number the nights in the order they happen. Write the time she sat before standing, what she said or did, and whether she had to sit back down. Keep the entries plain. Do not write a diagnosis, and do not decide what the pause means. Your job is to bring a clear record to the physician.
What to bring to the appointment
Take the notes, the route measurements if you have them, and a written list of the questions you want answered. Ask what the pause could mean for her, whether she should change the way she gets out of bed, and what you should do if the pause gets longer or she feels faint. Ask whether any of it should be checked. These are clinical questions, and they belong with the physician. The sources page lists where the general information on this site comes from: Sources.