The nurse practitioner suggested it as an alternative I believe to going to ER for chest pains (only occurred 1 time) and may have been from eating out. Did not go to ER and she was fine. Would be hospice in their facility.
I don't want to go down this rabbit hole if unnecessary as she is doing pretty okay relatively speaking (gets around facility with her walker, goes to things like exercise class, etc.). My two sisters visit regularly. She is wearing a halter monitor to see how frequent slow heart rate is,
I just don't think it is time yet. Her brother lived to over 100.
Last time my poor mother was sent to the ER for chest pains and I sat there with her for 5 hours, listening to her insist she NEVER said she had chest pains to begin with, I said THAT'S IT. After 10 years of ER visits, we were done. Nobody can fix 94 or 99 years old, nor should they try. I had mom evaluated for hospice the next week and all the insanity stopped. She was no longer poked and prodded but left alone to live what remained of her life in peace. Thank God.
Hospice is an agreement to STOP going down rabbit holes, in reality, and to allow nature to take its course.
Wishing you the best of luck with all of this.
The big question is would she have wanted medical intervention if anything were to happen?
I will tell you that CPR works great on TV, works ok on a young healthy person. On an older person not so great. With CPR that is preformed correctly they will break ribs, the sternum will probably be broken, 1 or both lungs may be punctured due to the broken ribs being compressed when they are doing CPR. Would she survive that and if so would she recover?
If this were me or my LO I would opt for Hospice and hope that I would go to bed one night, or sit down for a nap and my heart would just forget to beat one more time, and one more time.....
Would she qualify for hospice care? Of course she would. And the advantage of having hospice care in her facility is that she would have extra sets of eyes on her.
And having hospice care doesn't mean that your mom will be dead soon either.
My late husband was under hospice care in our home for the last 22 months of his life. So don't let the word "hospice" scare you.
And just because your moms brother lived to be over 100, doesn't mean that she will, nor should you want her to, if her health is suffering.
My own option, for myself or a loved one in advanced age is "no". I say this as a retired RN. I would ask for palliative care, meaning a recognition that there is really "no cure" for "aging". I would discuss with MD whether Hospice is an option; ordinarily it is not, as a low rate doesn't mean someone will die of it. I would decline trips to the ER.
At her age death is ever more near, whatever the cause. The low rate may lead to a fall and falls are, for the elderly, often the beginning of the end.
It is time now to discuss with MD just what sorts of medical intervention you choose to allow for your loved one.
Hospice can be called in and they will determine if Mom fits their criteria.
When my DH aunt, now 97 began to have lower numbers for pulse (under 40) I worked out with her geriatric primary that one of her BP meds was causing the problem. We adjusted the med and it helped. This had to be adjusted on a regular basis over several years. When she went off the “memory” meds, her pulse returned to normal. Her BP meds no longer had to be adjusted. She had been taking the memory meds for years. I suppose it gradually slowed her pulse over time. Not sure. All I know is it sure would have saved a lot of stress and worry if we had figured out which pill was the culprit earlier.
About hospice. The ALF may be required to take your mom to the ER for certain things even when they suspect she is fine. If she is on hospice, they would just call hospice. The hospice nurse would check her out. Easier for everyone. If, at any time, you wanted her to go to the hospital, she could still go. She would come off of hospice, go to the ER or hospital, have treatment, discharge back to the ALF and sign back up for hospice. It is just paperwork. No big deal for you. Aunt has done this a couple of times since she was first on hospice. I need to check but I think this fall will be 4 years.
Hospice that comes to you is covered by Medicare. You should receive more care, more often. You can call the hospice company to evaluate your mom and ask more questions until you are satisfied you understand it and feel comfortable with your decision.
If I had known about palliative care 12 years ago, I would have utilized it for my dad. As it was, I was fortunate that a random specialist told us about “do not hospitalize” orders when he was in a snf briefly which put my mind at ease, meaning they would not automatically send him to the hospital before talking to me(I knew those were his wishes and was MPOA).