She had been diagnosed a few days earlier with a UTI. Her condition deteriorated rapidly and within a day, she could no longer walk or talk. That Friday, she aspirated on even the smallest sip of water. At one point, she started having seizures. They took her by ambulance to the hospital. Not the typical signs of a UTI, they did a CT scan, which revealed the brain bleed.
If you don't know already, brain bleeds are a common thing for people who have had alzheimers for a long time. Their brain atrophy (shrinkage) causes the blood vessels to become brittle and not supported. They break and bleed between the brain and skull. Smaller ones resolve themselves. This was not small.
A 5.5" brain bleed was big enough that the pressure pushed her brain past it's center point, causing the seizure. The doctor was certain that she would never make it through surgery with any quality of life left.
We expected her to be non responsive when we arrived Saturday night. Not the case. She had her eyes open and was mumbling. We also found a family confused and angry and torn apart.
The next day, she began speaking words and assisting the nurses who moved her. We weren't seeing a woman close to death, but one who was improving. Talk about emotions. Wow. Nobody knew what to think, although some siblings felt there was some crying wolf involved.
They had continued to treat UTI with antibiotics. She continued to improve and appear to be back to her verbal baseline. By Monday morning, the doctor had the family convinced that she was improving and was ready to start physical, occupational and speech therapies. Monday evening, she was eating thickened liquids and ground foods.
Tuesday and Wednesday, she sat on the edge of the bed and stood up with assistance. The doctor was still clear that she was in end stage ALZ. The family had to decide where she would go when she was dismissed in a few days. Hospice care vs. home care vs. nursing home. It was a point of contention amongst everyone.
His dad wanted her home, but it was obvious that there was not enough physical care. It was also hard for some of the family to wrap their heads around the 'end stage' part of this. He believed she had less than six months and some couldn't envision that.
Soon, that decision was made for them. Wednesday night, she took a turn and one she wouldn't recover from.
Despite the doctor's opinion, the UTI was not her biggest problem. The brain bleed was. She stopped assisting with moving. She stopped responding to verbal command and conversation. She was more lethargic.
Thursday, my husband spent all day with her. He kept texting saying that he didn't think she was just having a bad day. He thought she was dying. He fed her jello and cried the entire time. That night, I tried to feed her jello and she aspirated. The nurses and doctors all decided that she needed to stop being fed.
An on call doctor came in that night and had a very serious talk with all of us. He said that he believed the brain bleed was taking it's toll on her and that she would not recover. He said that she was going to deteriorate until she was gone.
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