Breathing and Oxygen, water by syringe and care

Breathing & Oxygen
A patient who is dying can look very distressed, if you know the signs.

My aunt was gasping for breath. When you think about it, it's not just a sign of the end, it means the poor patient feels dreadful, not enough energy to speak, can feel as if they are drowning.

In hospital she was given oxygen. That's to help breathing.

They said that if she were returned to the care home, the hospital would send oxygen with her.  (And possibly a full time nurse. That was reassuring news. About the oxygen, and nurse.

My next door neighbour, a retired nurse, said there are two stages of approaching death, the first stage, then a dip into the final hours. (So presumably that expensive full time nurse would be needed for less than 24 hours, as well as freeing up a hospital bed.)

Five years earlier, I was told by the same hospital that my father had been given oxygen. I had not understood the significance.

I'd heard it said, 'Old people usually die of pneumonia'.

Flinging Arms
She was also flinging her arms about. The car home manager told me, 'That's a sign of distress'. I had sort of gathered that. But being told it clarified the issue, made me more anxious that my sick relative should be given pain relief and attention.

Water By Syringe
By this point the patient could not sit up unaided to speak, or see us, or drink, although the bed had a rising device. She would not or could not swallow. So she was not taking in water. The care home staff told us that they had been using a syringe for an hour to put drops of water in her mouth to keep it moist.

This is time-consuming for staff. Explains why you sometimes find it hard to summon people for what now seem relatively trivial matters such as 'can we have a cup of tea' or 'change the TV channel' or 'just tell tell you we've arrived' or 'we are leaving'.

This news reassured me that she was getting attention and care.