I just got the call from hospice. They will be returning to take care of Joe again. I'll be signing paperwork later today.
In addition to the feeding issues from 10 days ago, it looks like he had a stroke. That might have been 10 days ago, or it might have just been a couple of days ago. We really don't know. But the doctor is pretty sure there was one, and he wants hospice back on board.
Joe is also having more serious feeding issues from what was going on 10 days ago. Then he just didn't want to eat and wasn't eating much. He has been assessed by a speech therapist and is now on pureed foods and nectar. And he is having swallowing issues.
All of these symptoms are new from the time hospice left because there were no new symptoms. The federal rules for hospice for dementia patients do not make a lot of sense. It is not unusual for dementia patients to lose hospice one or more times before they die. And that is just frustrating, not just for the family, but it turns out for the nursing staff at the nursing home. Both of Joe's regular nurses have sounded like they could not understand why hospice wasn't on board as these changes happened over the last 10 days.
I'm so sorry to hear of Joe's deterioration, but I suppose it was just a matter of time. Meanwhile my sister reports that my Mother's cognitive functions are starting to show signs of deterioration.
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