No. of Recommendations: 1
They are advising against a feeding tube because patients with dementia tend to pull them out, causing other problems. On Tuesday they had to tie her down because she was trying to pull out her IV and get up. I was there, so I know they weren't exaggerating. She was also trying to hit the nurses. She wasn't doing that Wed or Thurs (and wasn't restrained).
Her living will specifies "comfort care", which is somewhat vague. But apparently the medical folks interpret it as no artificial support. Oral food (if possible), IV fluids and meds. Which is consistent with what I know her wishes to have been. But she was understanding yesterday (I could tell by facial expressions and rolling of her eyes), which isn't how one imagines that situation. You think of someone comatose or brain-dead hooked up to a machine. She's not that.
They rescheduled the swallow test for today.
They have said that a social worker will talk with us at some point. Either for rehab, or hospice. Don't know which yet.
Turns out it was an ischemic stroke. Instead of bleeding into the brain (which is how I visualize a stroke), blood was prevented from flowing to parts of the brain. Which is why they ordered an echo and wanted to know more about her heart (echo was normal). So those areas of the brain are most likely dead.
