We brought Mum home this morning, by ambulance. On Wednesday it was found that she had had another bleed in the brain, and the neuro-surgeon said there was nothing else that could be done for her. She had been going downhill for a few days, more and more sleepy and complaining of pains in her head. On Monday and Tuesday she was barely responsive.
After this news was given to us, it happened that the whole family were gathered together in the hospital room and we decided that it would be more comfortable altogether for her to be at home, with her family, and without all the clamour of the hospital and dreariness of the bland room. Though the hospital staff have been great, there's a huge inconsistency of care, as one shift changes to another, and various staff are rostered on and off.
So she's been brought home to sleep out her last days. We've put her in the big lounge downstairs, rather than back upstairs in her own part of the house, mainly for everybody's convenience (we have district health nurses coming three times a day). One of us will probably sleep in there with her, and the kids may be able to 'spell' us at night occasionally.
We don't know how long this will go on, but she's neither eating nor drinking (the hospital staff said that feeding her would only prolong the inevitable), and she may be here for Christmas; she may not.
