Hello everyone, thank you for your input. Mother is in the hospital with pneumonia, a uti and ketoacidosis , the ketoacidosis which is now under control. Mother was recently taken off a ventilator, is breathing on her own and moving on her own, however her mind has not caught on yet.
I came to visit Mother and the first thing ahe said to me via video was, "Take me to the Doctor, da****", I believe not realizing she is in ICU, a hospital, she started grimacing at me, her daughter and repeated herself at least 3 times looking mad at me.
She then cried to the nurse that was assiting her, "no don't leave me," and the nurse as well as I tried to assure her she is in good hands, but she seems to not accept this, and continues the repetitive sayings and uncertainty of just where she is.
Before this with the onset of the illness, she seemed to be in and out of dream wake reality, speaking of things that are not happening once awaken or repetitve gibberish which was not understood.
She still knows her name, but I'm her only child, I believe she does not know who I am.
I ask if this is more than Physcosis because there is a family history of dementia, delirium and physcosis, but Medical staff did a CT of her brain and say everything looked normal.
I'm so sad to wonder if my 71 year old Mother will return to herself and cannot understand what happened.
How long does this physcosis persist, will it ever go away? May I have to discharge her into a skilled nursing home. It's just me with her, her brothers are not that nice, careless, and discharging her with me...she may be combative and beat me up on the ride home which is not safe for either of us.
However, Thank God she is alert and responding and moving. I will also pray for your loved ones as well.
What do you think? Thanks for your help.
As to how long this will last? Every single patient is as absolutely unique as his own thumb print. If only we COULD predict this, but there is no way to. I am so sorry. This had to be very difficult to see. I wish you the very best and am so relieed that your Mom seems to be recovering well. Remember it is not an every-day-better sort of thing. Sometimes it is the simon-says-one-step-back. Backsliding isn't unusual, nor are any of your Mom's responses. Please take care of yourself in all this so you stay well.
It IS likely that she will be sent to a Skilled Nursing Facility for REHAB for 3 weeks or so to regain her strength. Of course, the delirium often continues for that duration, so prepare yourself. Have a talk with her doctor to express your concerns as well and to get his or her feedback. My suggestion is to have mom taken to the SNF for rehab by AMBULANCE (non emergent) or by medical transport if she is not acting like herself. You certainly do not want to have her acting aggressively towards you while driving, and anyway, it's not a good idea to try to load a sickly elder into your car for a drive to a medical facility! I always use a non-emergent ambulance for my mother and/or I hire a taxi that is wheelchair accessible to drive her from rehab to her Memory Care AL. The price is about the same for both (b/c Medicare pays all but $100 for the ambulance ride).
As far as an MRI showing dementia; it doesn't always show up on tests of that nature. My mother has vascular dementia (thought to be) and her MRIs are clean. It's the cognizance tests she fails on a regular basis, getting lower and lower scores as time goes by. Alzheimer's is the disease that oftentimes DOES show up on an MRI as plaques in the brain. CT scans are less accurate than MRIs in relation to such matters.
Wishing you the best of luck moving forward, and figuring out how to best help mom with her future care.
It's not uncommon to be "in a fog" in a hospital setting. You are surrounded by strangers noise and commotion, and it can be hard to get a good night's sleep. She may be suffering from Delirium. If so, it can go away but it takes time.