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My dad has stopped eating in the past few weeks and even drinking at one point. We put an IV in him and he pulled it out, but tried again and were successful. He is not dehydrated but is 110 pounds as of today. He has lost 40 pounds in the past few months. He was diagnosed with dementia a few months ago and everything has gone downhill. He lives in a nursing home. He's 66 years old. He suffered a really bad brain injury from a fall 2 years ago, was in a coma for 2 months, then finally woke up so a lot has happened. Should I continue to encourage food?

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This is especially tough due to your father's relatively young age. A lot depends on what exactly is going on with him and whether or not his doctors feel this is something that can be overcome or if he is ready for hospice care. I would say make his favourites available and keep them always close to hand, - offer, but don't nag.
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Is your father at all verbal? Can he communicate if he’s in pain anywhere that would stop him from eating? I used to get my mom to eat by bringing her fast food. I also made sure she had lots of snacks and treats, even including soda.
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Do you have a palliative care team that you can consult? This sort of thing is exactly what they do. They will advise on how to keep your father as comfortable as possible.

Palliative care is a little different than hospice. Hospice will not recommend anything for treatment. Palliative care will. There is a lot of weight given to comfort in the decision of whether or not to treat.

I'm sorry your family is going through this.
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