Expert: Paula Damgaard - 12/21/2008

Question
My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2002.  She has been unable to eat, drink, walk or recognize anyone for 6 years.  Recently she has had kidney stones, two UTI's in the  he past 3months.  She was just recently sent to the hospital with a UTI, from there they removed the kidney stones, her wbc entering was 11.5 and put on antibiotics.  Since the first day of entering the hospital her white blood count has gone from 11 to 44, she now requires breathing treatments and developed a blood clot from a pick line in her arm.  Her feeding tube is having residual and there is vomiting of the feed!  We called Hospice, to take over, but now some family members are second guessing their decision.  I feel that she would not want to live this way and for so long,because there is not quality of life.  She recognizes no one and hasn't for about 6 years.  When the doctors found out about Hospice they gave her 48 hours and hospice said a week.  We go to the hospital everyday and some days she is eyes closed, asleep and then tonight her eyes are wide open, arms moving and she is groaning.  this is were the second guessing comes in.  We really do not know what stage she is in, they say late stages, How do we find out which one.  I look on sites and there are numbers attached to the stages, we have never been given a number. I know she does not want a prolonged live and neither do we, but is this really the end?

Answer
Cindy, if you are asking me which it seems you are, you have already prolonged her life way longer than I would ever want my life to be extended.  I can't believe that your grandmother would ever want to live this way!  Leave her alone and let nature take its course.  The fact that today she opened her eyes and groaned is NOT a sign that she is coming back or anything else, in fact it is probably her saying enough already.  Sometimes at the point when they are ready to die, they seem to be more alert.  So perhaps that is what is happening with her.  

I hope she gets the best Christmas ever, by going to heaven where she is most surely going to go after suffering with this disease!  I will keep my fingers crossed for that.  Please let this be the end for her.  You do her no favors sending her to the hospital to have her infections cured.  Pneumonia and other infections used to be the old people's friend because they would get pneumonia or whatever and slip out easily and painlessly.  Now we treat them for these and keep them living longer for what???  This is certainly not quality.  

I hope this helps you.  Please know that my thoughts are with you.  Paula