Mother's Condition - Thursday evening 1/17/08

Mother's condition has been deteriorating at a faster pace ever since Christmas. Most recently, in the last week she has reduced the amount she eats and drinks to almost nothing. She's been less able to walk un-aided. She's been confused and has gotten out of bed at night and got into trouble when she was by herself. After we found her half way down the cellar steps one morning we felt we needed to stay with her around the clock.
Wednesday, she was scheduled for a CT Scan to check the status of her cancer. We had to arrange for wheel chair transportation as she really didn't seem capable of getting in and out of a car. I had discussed the situation with her Home Care Nurse and she encouraged me to take Mom to see her Internist or to Urgent Care while I was there to have her looked at by a doctor for her overall condition. Her Doctor wasn't in so they took her to Urgent Care. They ran a battery of tests and reviewed the CT Scan. They found a broken rib (that had probably taken place in a fall just before Christmas) and a large new lung lesion that could have been pneumonia, some other type of infection, or a new malignancy. Her blood oxygen level was low and her adema (sp), swelling and fluid accumulation in her feet and lower legs, was bad. The Doctor told me that he would be admitting her to the hospital. I stayed with her until they got her situated in a regular hospital room. As I had been with her since 10 PM the previous night, at that point I went home got some supper and went to bed.
On Thursday I had appointments in the morning so I went in to work but I called and left a message for the admitting Doctor's nurse asking her to call me as soon as they had decided on a course of treatment. I didn't know if they might want to discharge her that day and I had to let home health care people know whether they needed to show up on Friday or not. When I hadn't heard anything at 3:00 PM, I drove up to the hospital.
When I got to her room, she had just returned from an ultrasound and they had a nurse sitting with her. She told me that mother had been very confused and had tried to get out of bed and pulled on her IV, etc. I had hoped that since they were giving her oxygen, her mind might have been clearer. Instead, shemom told me that they had been trying to murder her, and she wasn't kidding. It seemed to settle her down to have me there, she recognized me right away and when I explained the tubes and stuff was what I wanted and it was to make her feel better she seemed more comfotable.
Her doctor came in and basically told me that she certainly wouldn't be going home and would likely not live long enough to have to worry about moving to skilled care. Her circulation to her extremities was failing and her kidneys were shutting down. Her mind was definitely affected and we were talking days or hours, not weeks or months. I asked to see a social worker because I still felt I should be thinking about a nursing home option. (I know how tough mom is and figured they might underestimate her will to hang on.) They are talking to Parmly about a spot and she might be moved before the end of the weekend. I authorized them to move her to Hospice care. That would mean that the focus of care would switch to keeping her comfortable and it would reduce the hospitals normal poking and proding to get vitals every 3 hours, taking blood, etc.
After everybody left us alone I asked mom if there was anything I could get for her. She said "Chocolate" Her favorite for the last week or so has been Hershey's Kisses. She'll eat 3 or 4 one right after the other. I promised her I would go out and bring her some chocolate. I ran to the grocery store and brought her a couple of bags of candy then went home for supper.
Sue and I discussed the idea of mounting a vigil. Of course, we want family to be there when she passes and they say there's a chance of a lucid time before that happens. I plan to try to be with her as much as possible over the weekend. I went back last night and sat with her until 9:30 PM. The color in her face is good, she can speak and laugh a little but the words won't come to express what she wants to say. I feel like I can understand what she wants to say most of the time. She asks where she is, what will happen next, why is she there. She's not distressed and she dozes a lot.
I have no idea how long this may go on. She's not taking much nourishment and hasn't for several days. They are giving intravenous liquids and antibiotics. She has an oxygen tube under her nose. She can have visitors any time. She's in room 2209 and Fairview Lakes at Wyoming. The general Hospital number is 982-7000 if you want to check on her condition.

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Butch