jtr1962
Flashaholic
As some of you may know, I've been care taking for my mother for about the last decade. Things got more involved when she stopped walking about 6 years ago. I had to bathe her, put her on the toilet, move her from her bed to her recliner, and so forth. I semi-retired in 2018, both to take care of her better, plus my consulting gig at the time ended.
The last ~6 years of being completely sedentary of course took its toll on her body. This May she went to the hospital with septic shock. In truth, I didn't think she would leave the hospital alive but she did. She spent the next 8 months in hospice care at home, and basically made a miraculous recovery. January 10, 2024 was her last day in hospice care. She was being taken off due to the doctors feeling she had more than 6 months to live. Unfortunately, it was not to be. She passed away around 10:20 PM on January 10th.
On January 9th she was a little off but the symptoms were similar to what she went though about four months prior. Back then, she also had discharged some blood overnight. I attributed it to possible dental issues. The nurses who came weekly didn't mention any other possible reasons. I figured she might a little out sorts for a day or two, then recover, as she did the last time. The nurse who checked her on the day she died didn't find anything concerning.
I made her comfortable, put her on oxygen since her breathing was labored, and then let her relax. She had no interest in solid foods, but at least drank Ensure and apple juice. I lied down next to her for a while. I noticed her breathing was quieter. Then I thought it's too quiet. She had stopped breathing. I called 911. Unfortunately they couldn't bring her back. They also said they felt blood in her stomach while giving her CPR. Most likely she had GI bleeding which we might have caught four months ago when similar symptoms appeared had anyone thought to check for it.
We had the funeral on the 17th and burial on the 18th.
She missed what would have been her 85th birthday by only 10 days.
As her caretaker, I had a special bond. I won't be myself for a long time, if ever. Last few weeks I mostly stayed in bed. I don't know if I'll be here regularly any more, even though I wrote a few posts today. I just wanted to post this in case anyone might have wondered why I disappeared for the last month. What makes this even more tragic was she appeared to be on an upward swing. I had no illusions of her living another decade or more given her frail condition, but I was hoping for a few more years at least.
The last ~6 years of being completely sedentary of course took its toll on her body. This May she went to the hospital with septic shock. In truth, I didn't think she would leave the hospital alive but she did. She spent the next 8 months in hospice care at home, and basically made a miraculous recovery. January 10, 2024 was her last day in hospice care. She was being taken off due to the doctors feeling she had more than 6 months to live. Unfortunately, it was not to be. She passed away around 10:20 PM on January 10th.
On January 9th she was a little off but the symptoms were similar to what she went though about four months prior. Back then, she also had discharged some blood overnight. I attributed it to possible dental issues. The nurses who came weekly didn't mention any other possible reasons. I figured she might a little out sorts for a day or two, then recover, as she did the last time. The nurse who checked her on the day she died didn't find anything concerning.
I made her comfortable, put her on oxygen since her breathing was labored, and then let her relax. She had no interest in solid foods, but at least drank Ensure and apple juice. I lied down next to her for a while. I noticed her breathing was quieter. Then I thought it's too quiet. She had stopped breathing. I called 911. Unfortunately they couldn't bring her back. They also said they felt blood in her stomach while giving her CPR. Most likely she had GI bleeding which we might have caught four months ago when similar symptoms appeared had anyone thought to check for it.
We had the funeral on the 17th and burial on the 18th.
She missed what would have been her 85th birthday by only 10 days.
As her caretaker, I had a special bond. I won't be myself for a long time, if ever. Last few weeks I mostly stayed in bed. I don't know if I'll be here regularly any more, even though I wrote a few posts today. I just wanted to post this in case anyone might have wondered why I disappeared for the last month. What makes this even more tragic was she appeared to be on an upward swing. I had no illusions of her living another decade or more given her frail condition, but I was hoping for a few more years at least.
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