Expert: Paula Damgaard - 1/13/2006

Question
I believe my mother-in-law is in late-stage Alzheimer. She was dignosed with moderate stage Alzheimer in 2002. She had a fall in 5/8/2005 and became bedridden since then. Now she is bedridden, no verbal output, complete urinary and bowel incontinence and sleeps all the time. We need to hand feed her small amount; about 3 tablespoons of liquid food. We need to take a long time to feed her because she has difficulty swallowing the food. The amount of liquid intake also very little because she refuse to drink most of the time. When we try to talk to her, she did not response and the eyes was closed. Sometimes if we are lucky she might open the eyes for a while but stare blankly for a few seconds and closed back. She has a very bad bedsore and the nurse is cleaning for her twice a week.

May I know roughly how long can she stay on like this ? Is death very close to her ?

Appreciate your advise.

Regards,
Lisa


Answer
Lisa, I am sorry I have no idea how long she has.  It doesn't seem as though it should be very long, but these patients fool you.  It is hard to figure out what is keeping them alive sometimes.  

Do you have Hospice involved?  They could provide some added care and also help with some of her medication bills.  They may also know how long she has left.  

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you need anything else.  Paula