My question deals with a very strange end of life predicament. My elderly mother has advanced stage Parkinson's disease with what seems like dementia or perhaps Lewy bodies. Confusion comes and goes. She is also blind. In her very sleepy or relaxed state -what I would call subconscious she begs me to please let her go, that she is ready to go- that she does not want to stay here any longer- that she does not want to and will not do any thing else to stay here! etc.
Its very obvious she is talking about making her exit and is ready. I have even talked at length with her in this state and told her that was ok I would be ok with whatever she wanted to do, do what she needed to do. NOW here's the strange and very odd thing. It may be dementia, or perhaps the "in-control" person- but when she is awake and alert she tells everyone she is fine and doing pretty well. When you take one look it's obvious she is NOT. She weighs in under 76 pounds, has a horrible pallor, covered in bruises just from being touched, cannot open her eyes, and is lying in the bed sleeping most of the day, as in 22 out of 24 hours. Add to that pneumonia and aspiration. I am guessing a conflict or is it just the in control person who she has pretended to be her entire life. Anyone else experience anything like this? By the textbook she is dying according to Hospice material, but not according to her in her awake state. So in other words she is just lingering in a zero quality of life state.
My BFs dad wouldn't pass until her mom said "It's okay for you to go, we will all be okay." He died within the hour, after lingering for weeks.
Just a thought.