The ER stated it was a UTI . She was there for a week and went to a skilled nursing facility for rehab. During her stay at the rehab center she got so dehydrated her kidneys quit functioning. They also said she had a UTI. The doctor called us in to see if we wanted to put a feeding tube in her or try to feed her again. She had been NPO for 5 days at this time. I said feed her due to her coming back home with us. She was still NPO last night. They called me today to discharge her back home with hospice and said she would need a 24 hour care giver and we shouldn't feed her unless she asks. I asked what was her expected time frame they said 7-10 days. Did I miss something here?
Did the UTI lead to sepsis? I guess there are a lot of medical questions that come to mind, but the focus now needs to be on her care.
Hospice will provide a hospital bed, a bedside commode, medications to keep her comfortable (and you control what she gets, when), and any supplies she needs.
Yes, someone on hospice needs 24 hour care. My husband slept 20+ hours a day on hospice, so the actual hands-on care was limited, but someone had to be there all day every day. My husband also had to be repositioned regularly to prevent bedsores. Is she returning to her own home, or the home of a family member? Can several family members rotate being with her? It may be 7 - 10 days, but that is very uncertain.
"Don't feed her unless she asks," is pretty standard advice from hospice. As the body shuts down it loses its ability to process food. My husband ate a little during the five weeks he was on hospice. In the hours he was awake he was more lucid than he had been in a while, and could make his wishes known. He ate a lot of Popsicles. One morning he asked for his favorite breakfast. That was scrambled eggs with salsa and nacho cheese. Oh dear. I didn't have any salsa in the fridge. I used seafood cocktail sauce instead. The only relationship it has to salsa is that it is red. My husband ate the whole thing and told me it was wonderful. I think the experience of eating just then was what was wonderful. Taste really didn't matter. He read the newspaper and went to sleep. He died that night.
When my mother was discharged from the hospital to return to her NH, the hospital said she may not live the rest of the week. She was on hospice 3 months and then discharged to regular care. She lived 2 more years. I don't mean to give you false hope. I don't know how often that happens.
Hospice generally stops most medications. I hope they will continue treating the UTI. Insist on that! It is for her comfort, and that is what hospice is all about.
Again, sincere warm thoughts for your entire family. Come back and post as things progress, if that would be of comfort or help to you.
You don't need professional caregivers if there are enough family members or friends to be there around the clock.
For my mother, hospice got her a special bed immediately and as soon as she could be transferred out of bed they provided a geri wheelchair. I imagine the NH would have done these things eventually, after getting a doctor's order, and going through insurance, blah, blah. blah. But hospice has authority to cut all that red tape!
Once hospice takes over the only phone number you'll need to have handy is theirs.
I just want to ease your anxiety about what will happen on hospice.
Contacting the hospital or rehab where she was probably won’t do any good. You really should call her doctor ASAP to find out what’s going on. If you aren’t being given time to prepare for all this, I might be tempted to take her back to the ER. It takes time for caregivers to be hired, Hospice care to be set up, equipment to be ordered, etc. please keep us updated!
I apologize if you've posted an update elsewhere on A/C but hope you've found some relief for mom
My 94 year old mom is same situation - admitted with UTI on November 2 discharged 4 days later to SNF with IV antibiotic for 2 weeks
She's experiencing delirium then sleeping 24 hours without intake - I did get iv fluids started but she's not eating much and after only a few days in SNF is developing bedsores