Hi I live in Ireland where there is very little guidance in terms of end of life planning. Mum has late stage dementia, has lost mobility and language, needs to be fed and 24 hour supervision but is not in pain, thank goodness.
Four weeks ago she had a fall and cut her head and was sent to hospital for stitches. She was in A&E for hours because they wanted her to have a CT scan but could not get her to stay still. They had several gos at sedating her and eventually had to give IV sedation. The scan was to check for any internal bleeding. When we asked what they would do if they found any bleeding, they said transfer to the national neurosurgery centre for assessment/potential surgery. The following week she had a chest infection and the junior doctor who came wanted her transferred to hospital again. Thank goodness the senior doctor was available and advised against this. Mum rallied within 24 hours, but the doctor subsequently told us he didn't think she would survive. Last week, mum had a period of almost 24 hours during which the nurses and we were unable to rouse her. Eventually, they did a "sub-cut" to provide fluids through a needle below her skin and she revived again. This seemed to be a relatively minor and not particularly invasive procedure.
I am terrified that at some stage one of these recurrent crises will result in mum being transferred to hospital, e.g. for IV fluids, which would be terrifying for and pointless since she her doctor says that she is in the final stages of this awful illness.
Can anybody advise as to how best to write a directive to specify that mum should only get treatment if it will make her more comfortable or relieve pain? Is there a template that can be used for this? I have searched for something like this without success.
Four weeks ago she had a fall and cut her head and was sent to hospital for stitches. She was in A&E for hours because they wanted her to have a CT scan but could not get her to stay still. They had several gos at sedating her and eventually had to give IV sedation. The scan was to check for any internal bleeding. When we asked what they would do if they found any bleeding, they said transfer to the national neurosurgery centre for assessment/potential surgery. The following week she had a chest infection and the junior doctor who came wanted her transferred to hospital again. Thank goodness the senior doctor was available and advised against this. Mum rallied within 24 hours, but the doctor subsequently told us he didn't think she would survive. Last week, mum had a period of almost 24 hours during which the nurses and we were unable to rouse her. Eventually, they did a "sub-cut" to provide fluids through a needle below her skin and she revived again. This seemed to be a relatively minor and not particularly invasive procedure.
I am terrified that at some stage one of these recurrent crises will result in mum being transferred to hospital, e.g. for IV fluids, which would be terrifying for and pointless since she her doctor says that she is in the final stages of this awful illness.
Can anybody advise as to how best to write a directive to specify that mum should only get treatment if it will make her more comfortable or relieve pain? Is there a template that can be used for this? I have searched for something like this without success.
