Elderly parents

sevmom
Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:53:57 +0000

Sorry for those with recent losses. i know it is tough. I spent the last 6 weeks of my mom’s life with her last year until she died in July.(I live out of town but went to her home for her last weeks). somemom,she had home health care but I wish we had moved to hospice earlier. She was only in hospice the last 10 days of her life at home. The booklet that the hospice people gave us was helpful about knowing what to look for. Her appetite greatly decreased and she began having trouble swallowing at the end. The aide that bathed her pulled me aside and said she had seen “mottling” when she bathed her. She said that is often a sign that the end was near. She was gone within 24 hours. I do recommend hospice. They were very helpful and wish we had gone in that direction a little earlier. But as others have said, you can’t look back with regrets. All you can do is your best. It is very difficult.