Mom has a TBI due to a fall

Hello everyone!

Last week, my mom (F, 66) fell off her backyard stairs somehow and hit the back of her head. She was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma with a skull fracture. Treatment has been conservative in that she has not needed surgery. She was aphasic for the first couple of days with some language, but quite a bit has returned, thankfully.

I have visited my mom almost every day since the injury, but now that she has some of her language back, she insists on leaving the hospital with me. She will be in the hospital for a couple more weeks and I am her decision-maker, so she's gonna be there for rehab.

My conflict is this: when I go to see her, it is an endless, circular conversation of her insisting on leaving with me and trying to get up by herself (she is a fall risk). She insists on going home to visit her pets; I try to show her pictures from my phone, but I'm not sure if she recognizes that those are her pets.

I feel like I am making things harder for the nurse when I am visiting because she keeps trying to get up and leave. What is funny about it is that she has absolutely no issue with any of the hospital staff and is all smiles and laughs when they are around her, but the second she sees me, it's time to go!

- what can I do to make it so that my visits with her are less about her wanting to leave? Is there anything I can do?

- she is refusing to eat. She has not eaten in over a week. I brought her some Irish tea today and she refused it (of course after I said she can't go home with me). The hospital has tried pudding, ensure drinks, those nasty magic cups, apple sauce, Jell-O, even apple juice and orange juice. I have offered getting her a mcdonalds cheeseburger and she refuses. Does anyone have a particular snack or meal they really enjoyed while recovering?

- she will be in intensive rehab for 10-14 days starting either tomorrow or Friday. It involves PT, OT, and speech/cognitive therapy. Is there anyone here who has done something kind of like that? If so, do you think that it made a difference during your recovery? And is there anything that I can do to support my mom during this time?

Thanks!