Husband got sick last week ended up in hospital with pneumonia and sepsis and now he is home to recuperate. His dementia is worse! Doesn't know his birthday, and struggled to make a cup of coffee. I read that pneumonia in older patients causes some memory issues. Do you think it will improve or is this the beginning of the end? It is frightening. He has an ostomy as well. And last night he unhooked the bag in the middle of the night. Her never did that before.
It's impossible to say if your husband will bounce back or not. That's probably a question for his doctor.
Did his physicians at all mention “MODS” or his going into “cascading” of care needs? Sepsis is pretty serious to deal with even if you were previously healthy and get really bad pneumonia and then get something else - like a bad infection - elsewhere and get septic.
I’d suggest you contact his MD to see if any of the changes are symptoms of his going into MODS phase. My MIL was septic & went into MODS. She went into a free standing hospice facility post hospitalization rather than going back to her NH; and it was covered by Medicare. imo MODS needs a care team and beyond what a spouse on their own can do at home or a NH can do.
Please call his MD to discuss what’s happening.
I hope OPs husband comes back around, poor fellow!
What's his BP and pulse ox?
He will improve. It may take weeks or months depending on how severe the illness was and how long he was in the hospital.
Side note this is a problem with ostomy's, feeding tubes and IV's people with dementia will pull them out. "they just don't belong" to their body and they do not understand that it is something that may be needed. (I will not get in to feeding tubes or other procedures that may not be wise)
Keep things as "normal" as possible, get him back on whatever schedule he was on before. If you have him in Day Care get him back as soon as possible. A routine is important and the sooner he can get back on track the better.
If this was a pneumonia caused by aspiration this may happen again. If it does happen again you might want to discuss with the doctor about thickening liquids so it will be easier for him. At some point the body/brain does not recognize liquids and will not close off the way to the lungs. This will lead to more bouts of aspiration.
My opinion. More you engage, hold his hand, etc. the better.
John
im sorry you’re going through this. I too went through this with my husband last July. The dementia WILL subside. It takes some time ALOT of patience and love. It is frustrating and yes you feel loss. Finding balance is hard and most family and peers don’t understand. You have to think for both of you right now and that is scary. Play card games, board games. Get your husband thinking. Remind him to make lists. Give him small tasks. Reintroduce him back to life in small chunks. Socializing is a big part. Keep it positive.
Thinking of you
Michele
Luckily my sister was visiting at the time and helped me tremendously. We had a visiting NP, and soon got PT and OT as well. Being away from home made him quite crazy with hallucinations. He gradually returned to his merely forgetful, slow-moving self.
Be attentive and patient, and ask for all the help you can get. If you can get an aide in for the afternoon, take a break and go to the movies.
It's tough, but can definitely get better. I wish you the best of luck.
I have since learned to be wary of all medical procedures when it comes to my husband. Especially anything involving anesthetics.
Now, my husband uses medical marijuana for pain relief and agitation. Works great. But, start small. Less is more.