No Difference
There has not been any real change in Mee Maw's condition over the last couple of days. On Thursday evening, after Lori and I left, the four sons had a long discussion with the young doctor who is handling Mee Maw some of the time.
Side note:
For some reason Mee Maw's regular doctor is not allowed to work in the hospital. Therefore she has not had a physician with knowledge of her long-term care or her personal or medical history. While the young doctor and the others working there may be quite knowledgeable and competent, and I am NOT suggesting otherwise, they still do not know everything about Mee Maw.
End side note
The young doctor insists that Mee Maw is in extreme pain all over and that the best thing the family can do is to keep her unconscious until she expires. The doctor that appears occasionally from the local hospice disagrees, claiming that Mee Maw will indicate with bodily movement and facial expressions when she is uncomfortable or hurting. More on that in a moment.
The family got the doctor to reluctantly agree to allow the family to regulate the medications that Mee Maw receives. The main two medicines right now are morphine and Ativan (which is the medicine that keeps her sedated). They found out that Mee Maw had been receiving 4mg of morphine four times each day, whether there was indication that she needed it or not.
Since then, her morphine consumption has decreased dramatically. Early in the morning hours of Friday, Ann, who was spending the night with Mee Maw, reported that some attendants came in to turn Mee Maw so she would lie on her side. Mee Maw was not handled carefully, and it was obvious that she was hurting, so Ann called for morphine. The Ativan has been reduced considerably.
After my mother arrived for the morning shift, more attendants arrived and placed an air mattress on the bed under Mee Maw. Mom reported that they were much more gentle in how they moved the patient while they fixed her bed. Mee Maw appeared to be resting more comfortably afterwards.
My father sat with her this morning (Sunday). At one point she sounded like she was speaking, so he went over to her bed and asked her if she needed something. Among the usual sounds, Dad said that four times while he was listening Mee Maw very clearly said, "Arthur." That was her husband's name.
A bit later she indicated by agitated movement and expressions that she was hurting, so Dad allowed a 1mg dose of morphine. It had the desired effect, calming her and reducing her indications of pain.
My dad had a conversation earlier with a nurse (or doctor) from hospice about Mee Maw's pain. This person said that Mee Maw's pain is most likely local, not universal as the young doctor insists. She said that Mee Maw would indicate in her face especially if she was hurting and if the sounds she would make were sounds of pain. It was this that led Dad to request morphine later in the morning.
The only other unusual incident that Dad reported was that, a couple of times just before Alfred came to relieve him, Mee Maw clearly said, "Unh unh!" like she was disagreeing with someone. Who that was, or what it was about, no one knows. We have no idea what she is seeing, hearing, or experiencing right now.
The end cannot be too far off, because she has had no nourishment since last Monday. She has had some ice chips placed in her mouth, and my mother has cleaned out her mouth to try to make it more comfortable for her. The doctors say that there is nothing other than a feeding tube that could get nourishment to her, and Mee Maw forbade that many years ago. As a result, her body will use up what nutrients it has stored to maintain function and to try to initiate the healing process in the cracked pelvis. When the nutrients are gone, then she will effectively have starved to death. But that was her wish, and the family is determined to respect her wishes.
Continue to pray for all of the Matthews family, please. This is a stressful time for all of us. Those who live far away do not know how to plan ahead, since they cannot know when they will need to come to Decatur for a funeral. Those of us living here are doing our best to go through our daily routines, but anytime that the telephone rings it brings a moment of panic. It is hard on everyone. Pray for God's strength for all of us.
Thank you.
Side note:
For some reason Mee Maw's regular doctor is not allowed to work in the hospital. Therefore she has not had a physician with knowledge of her long-term care or her personal or medical history. While the young doctor and the others working there may be quite knowledgeable and competent, and I am NOT suggesting otherwise, they still do not know everything about Mee Maw.
End side note
The young doctor insists that Mee Maw is in extreme pain all over and that the best thing the family can do is to keep her unconscious until she expires. The doctor that appears occasionally from the local hospice disagrees, claiming that Mee Maw will indicate with bodily movement and facial expressions when she is uncomfortable or hurting. More on that in a moment.
The family got the doctor to reluctantly agree to allow the family to regulate the medications that Mee Maw receives. The main two medicines right now are morphine and Ativan (which is the medicine that keeps her sedated). They found out that Mee Maw had been receiving 4mg of morphine four times each day, whether there was indication that she needed it or not.
Since then, her morphine consumption has decreased dramatically. Early in the morning hours of Friday, Ann, who was spending the night with Mee Maw, reported that some attendants came in to turn Mee Maw so she would lie on her side. Mee Maw was not handled carefully, and it was obvious that she was hurting, so Ann called for morphine. The Ativan has been reduced considerably.
After my mother arrived for the morning shift, more attendants arrived and placed an air mattress on the bed under Mee Maw. Mom reported that they were much more gentle in how they moved the patient while they fixed her bed. Mee Maw appeared to be resting more comfortably afterwards.
My father sat with her this morning (Sunday). At one point she sounded like she was speaking, so he went over to her bed and asked her if she needed something. Among the usual sounds, Dad said that four times while he was listening Mee Maw very clearly said, "Arthur." That was her husband's name.
A bit later she indicated by agitated movement and expressions that she was hurting, so Dad allowed a 1mg dose of morphine. It had the desired effect, calming her and reducing her indications of pain.
My dad had a conversation earlier with a nurse (or doctor) from hospice about Mee Maw's pain. This person said that Mee Maw's pain is most likely local, not universal as the young doctor insists. She said that Mee Maw would indicate in her face especially if she was hurting and if the sounds she would make were sounds of pain. It was this that led Dad to request morphine later in the morning.
The only other unusual incident that Dad reported was that, a couple of times just before Alfred came to relieve him, Mee Maw clearly said, "Unh unh!" like she was disagreeing with someone. Who that was, or what it was about, no one knows. We have no idea what she is seeing, hearing, or experiencing right now.
The end cannot be too far off, because she has had no nourishment since last Monday. She has had some ice chips placed in her mouth, and my mother has cleaned out her mouth to try to make it more comfortable for her. The doctors say that there is nothing other than a feeding tube that could get nourishment to her, and Mee Maw forbade that many years ago. As a result, her body will use up what nutrients it has stored to maintain function and to try to initiate the healing process in the cracked pelvis. When the nutrients are gone, then she will effectively have starved to death. But that was her wish, and the family is determined to respect her wishes.
Continue to pray for all of the Matthews family, please. This is a stressful time for all of us. Those who live far away do not know how to plan ahead, since they cannot know when they will need to come to Decatur for a funeral. Those of us living here are doing our best to go through our daily routines, but anytime that the telephone rings it brings a moment of panic. It is hard on everyone. Pray for God's strength for all of us.
Thank you.
posted by Richard | 4:56 PM
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