My teacher ( a mathematician with reputed papers to his credit) is seriously ill and bedridden in India. He is 76 years old and is suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis. He is left with no money but some compassionate people are taking care of him (I am in U.S, and my teacher is in India). He is unable to move or sit. He doesn't want to eat much. The care giving volunteers are advised by doctors to make him sit for half an hour or more which he finds very painful. He cannot sit for more than two minutes. He does not have appetite and so does not want to eat much. He cannot handle varieties of food and so is getting bored of eating oat meal every time. If he doesn't sit after eating, he throws up. Whenever I talk to my teacher, he is requesting me to ask them not to compel him to sit or eat. His hemoglobin is very low (4). He is still active mentally and keeps up to date in Mathematics and talks to me about Math.
What can I communicate to the volunteers? Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Vasu
Vasu
Hopefully when he gets to a larger city the doctors can find a source of the bleeding, which could be causing the difficult in sitting.
I wish you and your friend as well as all his supporters the best of success in helping this gentleman through this difficult time.
I want to share with everyone who gave advice that my friend is now eating some solid food and he likes it. He did not throw up.
His speech was clear. I hope he continues to improve.
I will update about his condition for few more days.
Thank you all for your adive and concern.
This is a great forum.
Vasu
As far as sitting up to eat is concerned that advice is given to try and stop the vomiting after meds by allowing gravity to help the food move through the digestive system.
The head of the bed can be easily raised by placing blocks of wood or even piles of books under the head of the bed and using pillows to make an 'armchair" for him to rest against.
You can arrange blood transfusions but if the cause of the bleeding can not be controlled they will have little effect. Drugs to control the pain and nausea are the best way to go.
Do you think he could tolerate being moved to a hospice in another city? It will be very painful to transport him.
Are there enough volunteers with sufficient knowledge to continue to care for him in his current location. At this time his needs are very simple. He needs to be kept clean, have his position change frequently gently. Food of his choice can be offered and fed to him if he is too weak to feed himself. The bed linens have to be changed and washed daily. Above all he should be allowed to make his own decisions and that includes whether to eat or not and where he wants to die. It is unfortunate that the family has abandoned him but he does have people willing to care or him rather than having him lying on the street to die. A truly heartbreaking situation but you and others are doing the best you can to help him.
Thanks,
Vasu
I have my mother who is 80+ and is living alone. She is not very mobile. These are the problems that complicate this issue. My doctor friends advice me to ask him to go for blood transfusion and endoscopy for his bloody diarrhea. Of course, they gave this advice as friends and with a disclaimer since they have neither examined the patient nor gone through his medical records.
Thank you for your response and concern,
Vasu
Can you please tell me what is a leg work? Is it massaging or gentle movements?
He developed bed sore because of lack of movement. Now, bed sore has almost healed.
Thanks,
Vasu
1. I am checking for Hospice like facility in a city. There are difficulties because even in hospice someone has to visit him otherwise quality of service will deteriorate and he will feel lonely. Even though, he has no one to visit after we put him in hospice, I think that is the only option. We all will take up the expenses.
2. In Indian culture, compelling someone in this condition to do things is very much accepted and expected. People will blame for not being a caring person if we don't do what we think is helpful for such a condition. Doctors' advised the volunteers to make him sit. This is purely cultural and as everyone mentioned leads to hardships to the patient.
3. I will request the volunteers to try different kinds of food and puree the food.
4. Meditation is a good idea and it is easy to do. I will suggest this too.
5. I will also request them to do some pain management.
6. His low Hb count is due to RA I believe and we are planning to take him to a city for blood transfusion.
7. I am not sure if doctors ruled out restrictions in his esophagus or stomach issues that may cause him to throw up. They advised the volunteers to make sit while eating.
8. A bed that can be raised and lowered is not available in that place. We are planning to move him soon to a bigger city. We will get such a bed. An useful suggestion indeed.
9. I will get him a wheel chair too when he becomes capable of sitting.
I click the "Report this post" in one of the answers. I did not know what it was meant to do. If it reported the answer as spam, I sincerely apologize. All answers were helpful.
Thank you all for the kindness you have shown.
Vasu
To solve the reflux problem, his caregivers could instead raise his upper body on pillows and assist him to eat in bed, allowing time after he's eaten before they adjust his position again. It's a fairly simple, mechanical problem - gravity's the key!
Hb that low, I'm sorry to say, indicates either serious complications of his RA or additional, also serious, health problems. Can you speak to one of the volunteers yourself and request that somebody take on the role of advocate for your teacher? His wishes must come first.
I am at a loss to advise you in any way.