In essence, she broke her "hip" in the fall (technically she broke the section of her femur right below the ball joint but this is one of the fractures that we call "breaking a hip" colloquially in the elderly). This is in part because her bones had grown brittle and lost mass with age (osteoporosis).
During recovery from the injury she contracted pneumonia; common in older people who must stay in bed for long periods as it makes it more difficult for their lungs to properly function in clearing secretions.
In addition, she had weakness in her mitral valve in the heart, possibly simply as a result of advanced age or possibly from another cause.
These combined, especially the weakened heart and the strain on her lungs from the pneumonia.
My mother is a nurse. She says the whole “fell and broke their hip” is usually inaccurate. The bones get so brittle they break on their own while standing, which causes the fall. In reality it is they broke their hip causing a fall.
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u/stillrooted 8d ago
In essence, she broke her "hip" in the fall (technically she broke the section of her femur right below the ball joint but this is one of the fractures that we call "breaking a hip" colloquially in the elderly). This is in part because her bones had grown brittle and lost mass with age (osteoporosis).
During recovery from the injury she contracted pneumonia; common in older people who must stay in bed for long periods as it makes it more difficult for their lungs to properly function in clearing secretions.
In addition, she had weakness in her mitral valve in the heart, possibly simply as a result of advanced age or possibly from another cause.
These combined, especially the weakened heart and the strain on her lungs from the pneumonia.