Treat a fall as a signal rather than an isolated accident -- a first fall is one of the strongest predictors of a second one. Get the cause properly investigated by a physician (medication, blood pressure, vision, inner-ear issues are all common culprits), and fix the immediate environment while you decide on next steps.
How families here handle this
Whether anyone was present for the fall matters as much as the fall itself: a fall with no one nearby to help is a fundamentally different safety situation than one that happened with a caregiver in the next room. In the weeks after a fall, watch for a fear-of-falling pattern setting in, where the person starts moving less out of caution, which weakens them physically and paradoxically increases the risk of a subsequent fall. Contact the Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County about equipment lending programs -- grab bars, shower benches and better lighting are inexpensive fixes that can meaningfully reduce risk while a longer-term care decision is still being worked out.
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