THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 WHAT HAPPENS AS WE APPROACH DEATH - PART I

 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 - THE PROCESS OF DYING

As you might know, I’ve been helping out in a nursing home.  I am feeding a 97-year-old woman who doesn’t feed herself anymore.  I’ve known her for three years (since September 2021).  During that time, she has lost the ability to feed herself.  She also lost pretty much all of her ability to speak.  Seemingly, she had a minor stroke before I met her, and that affected her speech.  She did talk a little (only to direct questions, not in conversation) during that first year, but that has ended.  I think her brain is sharp.  When she did talk - maybe six months ago, I did nursery rhymes - and left off the last word.  I would say, “Jack and Jill went up the, “and she would answer ‘hill,” Continued, “To fetch a pail of, “and she would answer, “Water.”  Her speaking ability is still there, but speaking has gone away without being used regularly.

The Physical Process of Dying

(I will be quoting from this article)

WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF DYING?

Dying can be a gradual process when someone has a terminal illness. If someone is receiving good palliative care, it can be quite a peaceful time — a time during which the body lets go of life.

Palliative care aims to keep those with a terminal illness comfortable and includes treatments to relieve pain.

In mosdying peopleng, the body's normal systems start to operate more slowly. What happens varies between people, but this article describes how people's bodies generally change as they die.

The heart beats a little more slowly or with a little less force, so blood moves around the body more slowly. This means the brain and the other organs receive less oxygen than they need and do not function as well.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE WEEKS BEFORE DEATH?

Most people who are dying feel tired. They may want to sleep more often or formore extendedr periods. They may want to talk less, although some may want to talk more.

They may want to eat less or different foods since their stomach and digestive system are slowing down.

Someone who is dying may also lose weight, and their skin might become thinner. The body now finds it hard to regenerate skin cells as it used to.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DAYS BEFORE DEATH?

In the days before their death, a person's control over their breathing starts to fail. They may breathe more slowly for a while, then more quickly, and so their breathing becomes quite unpredictable.

Fluid can start to gather in their lungs, and their breathing can begin to sound quite ‘ratt.''. They might cough, but not very profoundly.

People's skin color often changes in the days before death as blood circulation declines. They can become paler or greyer, or their skin can become mottled or blotchy.

They may also have less control over their body temperature. Their hands, feet, fingers, and toes may become cool to touch, while at other times, they may be hot and sweaty.

The loss of oxygen to their brain might cause them to become vague and sleepy. Some people talk to people who aren't there, and they may be confused or disoriented.

Some become unconscious a few days before they die.

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Karen adds:  This was a long article, but I think it is of value.  I sat with my friend RP on the day she died.  She was sleeping, and I watched her chest rise and fall.  The cancer had spread its way through her whole body.  

A nurse came in and gave her morphine to mask the pain.  Later that evening, her breathing stopped, and she died.

***

My friend TL is in a double room in the nursing home.  Last week, her roommate died.  I wasn’t watching as the roommate died (I will be more observant in the future).  

For the past three years, I’ve been near dying people.  I was working in the dementia ward when MR was assigned there.  Two days later, she was dead.  Was the move catastrophic? Would she have died if she hadn’t been moved?  

MH was on hospice in the Independent Living area - and I gave her pills several evenings.  A few times before she died, she asked me to put the pills on her bedside table with a glass of water.  (That wasn’t allowed, so I stayed to watch her take the pills and almost immediately go back to sleep)

More on this tomorrow.  

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White