Hello all,
I discovered mom in a hypothermic condition one afternoon due to the head nurse deciding mom was at the end of life and no longer needed to be properly clothed! I can go into more details if anyone is interested but...
After warming mom up she responded pretty well to me. She always has responded better to me than to most since I have always done the basics of looked, listened, touched, etc!
In speaking to the Admin (who is also a nurse) and my mothers doc - after many balls were dropped - mom was finally put on IV fluid and Vitamins. An agency was contacted to investigate the situation. The top admin of this agency is somewhat of a friend and hinted that I have a very good case for a law suit. That is not my interest but just the best care for my mother! I have not heard anything about the investigation...
After a number of weeks on the IV the nursing home Admin called, the end of last week, to say mothers doc believes the IV is not doing her any good and the next step would be Tube Feeding. The doc and the Admin both think it wont really do much good for mom and the IV is probably working her heart negatively.
I have my own health issues that make it very difficult to be at the side of my mother much. I have chronic fatigue syndrome as well as insomnia and a few other serious long term conditions. My big goal was to get my mother out of one nursing home where she was in a near coma *the horrors of the feeding tube left all of us believing End of Life = No to ALL THE BELOW!* - bring mom and dad together to the same nursing home room where they have been for a few very good years. Making that goal happen nearly put me into my own coma with the chronic fatigue and I am still on the road to recovery all these years later.
I know that when I go up to visit mom I will get her to respond with bright eyes, strong hand gripping, mouthing words and attempting to vocalize! That is not what the doctor or anyone else is seeing. The Admin does say that moms vitals are all stable. Color is always good. Responds a bit when spoken to very loudly, etc. A bad flu epidemic went thru the home. Good measures were put into place by the Admin but many patients got the flu. Mom & dad were some of the few that did NOT. Lucky or maybe healthier than most *even after all mom has been thru!?!
I believe it may be time for mom to rest but I don’t know if she is really getting the best care from her doctor! Of course, no one is going to spend the time that I spend and I also know I cant spend the energy I should due to my own health issues. I also believe that the hypothermic condition mom was put into, for probably 6 to 8 hours, may be irreversible!
Those are the thoughts I am having. Should I stop the IV feeding? Just continue the IV feeding? I don’t think I want to put mom thru the feeding tube surgery and all that! but maybe it would be best for her?!?!
Am I missing anything? What is everyones thought on this difficult decision?
Thanks so much for any help in this,
frank
p.s. I have read thru the article “When is the right time to stop tube feeding?”.