Falls Can Lead to Death

 

Image by Alexander Delaunoy
via Creative Commons

In the fourteen years that I have been maintaining this blog, I have written about falls just a handful of times.  In 2026, the issue is more salient for me because three of my six children's grandparents have been falling with serious consequences. 

• My mother (in her late 80s) is falling about once a month that my sisters and I know of. In February, she fell and broke her arm in three places near the wrist. A decade earlier, she fell and damaged her knee. 
• My step-mother (in her mid 80s) has muscle wasting and dementia. She has falling repeatedly, causing a broken hip and several broken teeth. 
• My step-father (aged 91) fell and hit his head in January, causing a brain bleed that led to his death eight days later. He was living with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (which includes gait problems and cognition problems). Additionally, he had the flu that made him even more unsteady.  

These falls, however, are not just limited to my own aging relatives.  This is a problem that many older adults experience. According to 2024 data provided by the CDC and reported by the National Safety Council  aka NSC (an NGO), "43,020 individuals aged 65 and older died as a result of preventable falls."  To put this number in context, this represents an upward trend for deaths: 

"Over the past 10 years, the number of fall-related deaths among older adults [in the US] has increased by 51% while emergency department visits have risen by 38%. In contrast, the number of fall deaths among individuals younger than 65 has increased by only 8%, and emergency department visits for this age group have decreased by 26%." 

To see a graph depicting this trend, visit this link (which is the same NSC link above).  

Why the upward trend?  

The Housekeeper and the Professor: Book Review

 

Published 6 April 2005

I read newly released books; however, I do like to dig around for hidden gems from prior years, even prior decades. I found this novel, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa probably while searching for books about late life. 

The novel features a quartet of characters: obviously, there is a professor. He is a retired mathematician who requires care because of age-related frailty. His sister hires a woman to come cook and clean for him in addition to being a companion.  She has a school-aged child whom she brings with her.  The sister is largely out of sight for most of the novel, so it's really the trio who are in the spotlight. 

Over the course of the book, the mathematician warms up to the housekeeper and the son by talking in an animated matter about math. The housekeeper has some innate ability to understand some of the more philosophical aspects of mathematics.  The boy is interested in baseball generally.  The mother has a better understanding of baseball statistics.  

It is a heartwarming book about how strangers can form meaningful bonds under peculiar circumstances. 

Related: 

Books on Aging.