My godmother is 92 years old and not in good shape. She has mild dementia, can't really walk (she's obese) and a few other things. She had a small stroke a few days ago which made her speech slur. She initially hallucinated (then stopped), and couldn't swallow (not sure if she can yet again). She also could really move. She's currently in the hospital and her daughter is discussing hospice with the docs. They're sending a palliative care team to assess her in a few days.
My feeling: because the stroke was "small" (the doctor's words), should she be placed into hospice at this point? She's lived a long and good life and if it's time for her to go, as much as I'll miss her, I can accept that. But shouldn't they access whether she can recover from this stroke?
How do docs make that assessment?
Her doctor will review her health history to date and if he feels that she has 6 months or less to live, he will recommend hospice. You can fire hospice at any time, don't forget, and take her back to the hospital for life saving medical treatment if you feel like you want to, or, you can choose to keep her comfortable until it's time for her to pass. I had hospice services in for my dad and it was a good all around experience.
Wishing you all the best at this difficult time
We don't have Hospice per se where I live in Canada but my mom was considered palliative for many years before she died. What that got us was a greater level of services in the home including visits from a palliative care nurse and also home visits from mom's doctor. Although the doctor also greatly reduced (but didn't completely eliminate) the amount of meds she was taking my fears that she would immediately stroke out and die were unfounded, (although in retrospect that might have been a good thing).