Most of the planning for a night route goes into the trip out, from the bed to the bathroom. The trip back gets less attention, and it is often where the trouble happens. She is more tired after the bathroom, the light may be off, and the bed may look different from the doorway than it did from the bed.
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 goes wrong on the return
She leaves the bathroom in the dark and goes back without the light. She grabs a chair or a laundry basket that has moved since the last trip. She reaches the bed, sits on its edge, and then leans or turns too fast to lie down. Sometimes she stops to lean on the door frame and loses her footing as she starts to move again.
Learn the early signs
The return takes longer than the trip out. She pauses at the bathroom door. She sits on the bed edge for a long stretch before lying down. She shuffles, or misses the bed edge by a step. She says she feels dizzy when she stands. Any of these is worth writing down the same night, and any dizziness or new confusion goes to her doctor, not to a fix at home.
Set the return in order
First, turn the light on before she gets up, so the way back is lit from the start. Second, have her walk back along the same wall she used going out, not across the room. Third, have her sit on the bed edge for a moment, with a hand on something solid, before she lies down. Fourth, check that the bed is where she expects it to be and that nothing has been moved in front of it.
If she falls on the way back
Use the first steps on the first ten minutes after a fall before you lift her or move her. If she is hurt, cannot get up, or hits her head, call for emergency help.
What to write down
Write how many minutes the return took compared with the trip out, where she paused, whether she sat on the bed edge, and whether she mentioned dizziness. A few weeks of these notes will show whether the return is getting harder, and that is the detail her doctor will want to see.