My mother broke her hip 14 days ago.Two days after surgery they removed her IV. Since that time she barely eats.She was moved to a nursing facilty for rehab 7 days ago.I am spoon feeding her and she only eats about 2 ts mash potatoes,a few sips of chicken broth,1/2 container of milk and maybe 2 ts puddingThats it. I go home at night and bawl my eyes out fearing she will starve.I asked them to put an IV back in her and that has not happened.Should I be scared?Is this normal? She is 89 years old.with dementia .Tell me what you think I should do.( I bought boost to take to the hospital,and baby food too.Just a few sips is all she will take and says she just wants to die.what do I do??????
Are there things that she likes that will bring joy to her room? Do you think she might like some ice cream? Maybe she would like some nibbling food -- chips, crackers, nuts, candy. Some of the hospital food can be pretty bland.
If you think she might be preparing for her final journey, just let her be your guide about what she needs. It is never easy. We want so much to fix things so that they will be well again, but there comes a time when it is out of our hands. If that time does come, many older people find comfort in things that enrich the spirit, such as reading passages of scripture or daily devotionals.
Many people do go into altered moods after trauma and surgery, so she may get better as time goes on. Until then, keep doing what you're doing and bring her in some snacks you think she might like. Maybe some homemade cookies? Nothing says lovin' like something from the oven. I know she needs to feel loved and wanted even in this time when she is feeling so bad.
On the day right before her 40 th b-day, she asked me again & I hesitated not & handed her the bottle of pills knowing that I would never see her alive again. She was dead with in 38 hr.'s. Not for anything in this universe would I pull her back from no more suffering & being pain free. Her sister joined her in eternal birth 15 months to the day after she passed. They were 15 months apart in birth & in eternal birth.
Spirit lives forever. My daughter's propel me on through life. It is out of my realm the joy & happiness they now Spiritually are in.
Please don't misunderstand me-I so miss their bodies & sit her crying as I type to you. I recall what my dad always told me-"When you cry for those who have died, you don't cry for them, you cry for your self." I am not crying now.
Death is a part of life, a natural part of life.