on and off, days of sleeping

CJinUSA

Registered User
Jan 20, 2014
1,122
0
eastern USA
My mother had a fairly good day yesterday, awake perhaps 5 or 6 hours of the day and lightly napping the other times. She had a hard night, though, unsettled and unhappy, and today she is sleeping deeply, not comatose, but in a dreamlike state not unlike being comatose. She has been in hospice care since early September, when her Alzheimer's took a turn for the worse, leaving her right side nearly useless. She also has her own carers, as always, who have been with her most days. When the carer today leaves at 5, I'll be able to go be with her without intrusion.

We're waiting right now for a call from the hospice nurse to see if they want to stop by. If she continues like this for a few days, I imagine we are looking at the end here. She has rallied before, but this period of sleeping has been lasting awhile now, and I can't awaken her.

My mother was once a vibrant, cheerful, happy person. This is very painful watching her go this way, yet I hope she passes on soon. Yesterday she said, when I tried to awaken her in the morning, "I don't want to wake up. I don't ever want to wake up again." Maybe this is as she wishes, today. Time will tell.

I'm grateful to the brave people who have posted on this particular forum, as in reading your experiences, I feel prepared for my own inevitable loss.
 

mollypearce888

Registered User
Jan 30, 2016
5
0
days of sleeping

first of all I would just like to say that I'm sorry to hear about your experiences

I know how hard it can be to see a family member not be in a completely conscious state a lot of the time, it is often very difficult to keep their attention whilst talking to them even when they do not understand what your are saying.

I am currently going through this with my grandmother and must say that its extremely difficult to watch. my grandmother is currently in a Home which means when I do see her I like to see her awake as much as possible but as you know people with dementia have their good days and bad days.
Over the last few days I have noticed that my grandmother has been more alert and this has been because a TV has been on constantly in her room, I have memories when I was younger of her listening to the radio when she was doing stuff in the kitchen which helped her concentrate and noticed that the constant noise of the television made her more alert even though she wasn't watching it. Is there any kind of music that your family member used to like? a favourite TV program?

I hope this helps
x
 

CJinUSA

Registered User
Jan 20, 2014
1,122
0
eastern USA
first of all I would just like to say that I'm sorry to hear about your experiences

I know how hard it can be to see a family member not be in a completely conscious state a lot of the time, it is often very difficult to keep their attention whilst talking to them even when they do not understand what your are saying.

I am currently going through this with my grandmother and must say that its extremely difficult to watch. my grandmother is currently in a Home which means when I do see her I like to see her awake as much as possible but as you know people with dementia have their good days and bad days.
Over the last few days I have noticed that my grandmother has been more alert and this has been because a TV has been on constantly in her room, I have memories when I was younger of her listening to the radio when she was doing stuff in the kitchen which helped her concentrate and noticed that the constant noise of the television made her more alert even though she wasn't watching it. Is there any kind of music that your family member used to like? a favourite TV program?

I hope this helps
x

Yes, we do have tv there, where we can put on any show she'd like, almost. Right now we have some soft music on. She used to watch tv a lot, but lately she has asked for quiet. She finally woke up, and the caregiver, who leaves soon, is spooning to her some soup that she likes. She is doing well, but she is still keeping her eyes closed, a sign that she wants to be in her world perhaps more than in ours. It's definitely the late stage inward turn that we are witnessing.

I'm sorry about your grandmother. My mother is here in my home, so I'm with her all the time and can track the changes pretty easily.