I posted previously about my mom's pacemaker infection. She has been in nursing home since June 17. We stopped physical therapy a few weeks ago because she was too tired to do much therapy. She is still on some heart medicine (carvedilol) and Lasix (diuretic). Now she has a couple of bed sores on her behind, they are treating. This afternoon, the CNA said mom called her four different times, asking for coffee, and the CNA had to explain each time about coffee not ready yet. This morning she did not remember eating breakfast and said she was tired and would eat lunch later. Then in the evening, she did remember eating breakfast. Not sure if this confusion is due to low blood flow to the brain, since she has 10-15% ejection fraction of the heart. She also is weaker with transferring from and to bed, so they will start using the lift for her. I am talking with hospice nurse tomorrow morning, and probably will start hospice care, as I want my mom to have some quality of life, rather than going out to doctor appointments and getting more tired. I don't know what to think anymore, and I want her to feel better and have better memory. She has always been mentally sharp, even at 94 years old.
We have long recognized a brain/body connection, but typically we think that when we are sad or have experienced a trauma or remain angry for months that that effects our health. But I discovered on my husband's journey with dementia, that the reverse is true, too. When we have pain in our body, when organs aren't working as they should, if we have an infection, if something is going wrong any where in our bodies, our brains are not apt to function at peak performance. The most obvious example is when elders get a urinary track infection and start hallucinating, but there are lots of more subtle connections, too.
Make the most of your time with her. Don't worry if she doesn't remember breakfast or asking for coffee -- other people can keep track of that for her. Help her remember the good episodes of her life. Share photo albums of happy times. Talk about what she accomplished and how proud you are, the people who love her, etc.