My mother broke her femur in late November of last year. Her doctor now has her walking with a walker with 75 percent of her weight on the broken leg, and he also has her standing on it fully for a few seconds, three times a day, fifteen times each session.

My problem is her mood - she's convinced she's NEVER going to be able to walk again. I find it ridiculous considering what he doctor is allowing her to do and how well she's moving compared to when it first happened. She's fed up with the situation and rightfully so, but I can't snap her out of this hopeless feeling.

Does anyone here have any experience with femur fractures, or know anything about them? If I could just share with her other experiences and prove that it's a major break that requires a lot of time to heal but she'll be fine in the end, it would make a huge difference. Thanks!

I'm not sure how old your mom is; age will affect how quickly she heals. My mom was 52 when she broke hers. She didn't use a walker, but- once out of the wheelchair, which took about 6 weeks- used two sticks for about 9 months, and then one stick to support her for another couple of months. She also had weekly physiotherapy sessions for a year or more, and had excersies to do at home (similar to your mom, building up the muscles and weight-bearing of the leg slowly.

BandaiJ
You mom seems to be making very good progress at 4 months post fx. I assume she had a rod put in. She will be back to normal soon. Keep up excersises to strengthen muscles back to the pre break time. I promise she will recover normally. Keep encourging her. I'm sure her surgeon is well pleased with her progress.

Fractures, operations, and a few other things I have had and I tell you during the "mend" process it can be very, very slow... relatively speaking.

If a person is normally active a minor thing like a fracture putting you off your feet for even a couple of months can feel like eternity.

Physical illness and mental/emotional illness are linked as well.

When we are physically sick we usually end up being depressed/anxious. Pain, even minor but chronic or long term pain can put us in a fowl mood as well.

I would say that everything for her is "normal".

She will "snap out" of it in time, once she does get more active and once she sees that improvement. Meanwhile I would say don't "push" her when it comes to emotional/mental things.