Sure. Easily. With training. I think that the tube isn't the problem. The problem is whether you wish to and have the wherewithal and the time to take on this burden overall.
Assuming you’re addressing a stroke patient, the feeding tube is simple to use and keep clean. They do need occasional replacement, a simple outpatient procedure that takes minutes. The far bigger challenge with a stroke patient is caring for a body with paralysis and them not being able to help with transitions, changes, baths, etc. as if often the case. My family didn’t know that strokes often bring on a unique depression that’s ongoing and hard to deal with. In our case, the care was far too intense to be accomplished in a home setting. For a far milder stroke than my mom had, perhaps so
Is the patient competent to decide if she even wants a feeding tube? My Healthcare Directive and personal letter specifically exclude that as an option. It may be time to call in hospice or palliative care. If a feeding tube is placed, IMO the patient should likely receive professional care.
My friend is an RN and cared for her husband with a feeding tube for over two years. These years were fraught with difficulties. Various health issues that required long hospital stays, rushing to the ER after midnight, a lift in their home to get him upstairs, etc. She had no other interest or job besides taking care of him 24/7 day in and day out. He couldn’t be left alone.
Without that level of training and knowledge, it would be impossible. She was exhausted by the time he died. She had no life of her own left.
It seems that you are asking about your elderly Aunt, who has had a stroke and has a feeding tube. You say that her children have "abandoned" her and that doctors are calling your mom about her care.
I assume that your aunt's children have jobs, spouses and families to manage. The question may be not so much "can a feeding tube be managed at home"--by anyone, rather, can THEY manage their mother's care at her home/their home without destroying their lives.
Look, I loved my mom (as did both of my brothers). But there was simply NO way that ANY of us could have cared for her in any of our homes. None of us was able to quit our jobs to provide full time care.
My feeling about care in facilities vs. care at home has ALWAYS been (this applies to childcare and elder care) that care in a facility provides more socialization and more eyes on a situation than care at home by a CNA/Nanny.
Are you looking to care for your aunt in your home, or mom's?
Make sure that you have POA and that your are adequately compensated and that respite is provided for.
I would not take her on. Let her kids do their job. If they do not want to care for her then get her set up with care. You have Mom and a job. You will have no time for yourself.
You also would have to deal with getting her to your State and getting her a new supplemental. They don't usually go over State lines. With a stroke and feeding tube she needs to be in care.
Technically, yes. But it's kind of a big deal. Someone I know was caring for someone with one and it was one thing after another. The patient would pull the tube out or it would twist or whatever and the visits to the ER and surgeries continued on and on. I would not touch that area of caregiving with a 10 foot pole.
My husband had a feeding tube for the last year of his life and I cared for him at home. A home health nurse trained me. It was simple to use and keep clean. I agree with AlvaDeer though. You must have the necessary resources.
There are lines of care that even an experienced, dedicated caregiver should probably not cross. I don’t know from personal experience, but I imagine that dealing with all of the implications of a feeding tube would be very intense and even more emotionally and physically draining than ordinary tasks required of home caregivers. We do what we CAN do and not what we can’t. Sounds like time for professional care hard as that is to accept. Making that decision takes as much courage as trying to do it yourself.
I think that the tube isn't the problem.
The problem is whether you wish to and have the wherewithal and the time to take on this burden overall.
Without that level of training and knowledge, it would be impossible. She was exhausted by the time he died. She had no life of her own left.
Don’t even think about it.
It seems that you are asking about your elderly Aunt, who has had a stroke and has a feeding tube. You say that her children have "abandoned" her and that doctors are calling your mom about her care.
I assume that your aunt's children have jobs, spouses and families to manage. The question may be not so much "can a feeding tube be managed at home"--by anyone, rather, can THEY manage their mother's care at her home/their home without destroying their lives.
Look, I loved my mom (as did both of my brothers). But there was simply NO way that ANY of us could have cared for her in any of our homes. None of us was able to quit our jobs to provide full time care.
My feeling about care in facilities vs. care at home has ALWAYS been (this applies to childcare and elder care) that care in a facility provides more socialization and more eyes on a situation than care at home by a CNA/Nanny.
Are you looking to care for your aunt in your home, or mom's?
Make sure that you have POA and that your are adequately compensated and that respite is provided for.
You also would have to deal with getting her to your State and getting her a new supplemental. They don't usually go over State lines. With a stroke and feeding tube she needs to be in care.
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