Downturn

Posted 11:30 PM by Gerald So

My 91-year-old mother went back to the hospital yesterday, nine days after a stay during which she had a pleural catheter inserted. The initial drains seemed to go well, but didn't much visibly relieve her. Most of yesterday she was semi- to unresponsive. We thought it was an issue of very high blood sugar and gave her insulin to counteract, but while her sugar normalized, her responsiveness worsened.

At the hospital, it was discovered her CO₂ and acid levels were high because her lungs weren't expelling them. She doesn't want extraordinary measures, so she was put on a BPAP machine to try and bring the numbers down, but they worsened. She was moved to intensive care, and my brother and I were told to brace for the possibility she wouldn't survive the night.

We chose to respect her wishes, have nothing extraordinary done, and let her pass naturally when the time comes. Her primary doctor and cardiologist endorsed our decision.

I'm disappointed she's lost the ability to communicate near the end, but I look back on her surviving bilateral pneumonia with pleural effusions two years ago and my handling online contact with her doctors and ordering her medications and supplies over the same two years. It was an honor to care for her the way she looked after me growing up.

This final stretch is indefinite, but at least it lets us prepare mentally.