My mom is 87, was in assisted living for three weeks when she fell. She has a traumatic brain injury. Has been in rehab for three weeks and not progressing. She speaks very little, has to be spoon fed and can’t walk. My brother and I are wondering if it’s time for hospice. My mom’s former neighbor, who is a hospice nurse, has seen her recently and believes it’s time. I don’t want to be guilty of giving up on my mom too soon. She’ll be moving to a memory unit next week where she’ll have skilled nursing care. How do we decide?
In my opinion it is NEVER to early to contact Hospice.
Leaving acute care for rehab was the initial plan, but it may be skilled nursing instead. The family still have hope but it is starting to fade.
Diet is small pureed amounts, but too sleepy some days. It is all still wait & see.
I think if liquids/food becomes more unsafe & nasal gastric feeding is needed, this will be a confronting choice.
I hope you can find the support you need though the decisions ahead. (((Hugs))) to you.
While she's unquestionably declining, she's mostly living as she would have without hospice except she won't be going to the hospital any longer. She's not on special comfort care meds or anything like that. The nice thing about it is that it's now all about quality of life, and not about doing everything in our power to keep her going. She's annoyed at the endless treatment of a leg wound she has, but otherwise she gets to sleep when she wants and if they can get her to eat a cookie when she won't eat anything else, then that's OK.
Hospice isn't about giving up on someone. Rather, it's about shifting priorities.
I really like the way you put it. Not giving up but giving care with a slightly different priority. Hope can still be part of the picture too.