Hello
I'm perpetually shell shocked at the speed of this horrible, relentless dementia journey.
We moved Mum into a care home on 14th June, reluctantly to say the least. 10 days in she had a fall causing multiple fractures (she has osteoporosis) and has been in hospital for just over 2 weeks.
Mum is middle stage mixed dementia, and is often quite lucid, though since being in the hospital she's been a lot more confused as you would expect. Mum is incredibly particular and restrictive about her food and drink, always has been, and has a phobia of vomiting. Undiagnosed ARFIDS. I strongly suspect she is also neuro divergent.
She's barely eating or drinking since being admitted and the doctor has asked to call me tomorrow to discuss an NG feeding tube. I have questions to put forward to them and need to understand the risks and implications but my initial feelings are that it would be far too distressing for Mum and that she simply wouldn't tolerate it. If we're at that point though, not giving consent would be essentially be waiting for her to fade away wouldn't it...? It feels way too early to be at that point. I had a chat with my dad (they're divorced but close) and he says there's no choice, that she's not choosing not to eat to end her life, she's unsettled and weak and in pain. She has been battling with appetite for months before this, because of the dementia and her lifelong anxiety.
I don't know what to think..
Thanks in advance for any thoughts xx
I'm perpetually shell shocked at the speed of this horrible, relentless dementia journey.
We moved Mum into a care home on 14th June, reluctantly to say the least. 10 days in she had a fall causing multiple fractures (she has osteoporosis) and has been in hospital for just over 2 weeks.
Mum is middle stage mixed dementia, and is often quite lucid, though since being in the hospital she's been a lot more confused as you would expect. Mum is incredibly particular and restrictive about her food and drink, always has been, and has a phobia of vomiting. Undiagnosed ARFIDS. I strongly suspect she is also neuro divergent.
She's barely eating or drinking since being admitted and the doctor has asked to call me tomorrow to discuss an NG feeding tube. I have questions to put forward to them and need to understand the risks and implications but my initial feelings are that it would be far too distressing for Mum and that she simply wouldn't tolerate it. If we're at that point though, not giving consent would be essentially be waiting for her to fade away wouldn't it...? It feels way too early to be at that point. I had a chat with my dad (they're divorced but close) and he says there's no choice, that she's not choosing not to eat to end her life, she's unsettled and weak and in pain. She has been battling with appetite for months before this, because of the dementia and her lifelong anxiety.
I don't know what to think..
Thanks in advance for any thoughts xx