Can you tell me if the end of AD is always the way that you always read about. The person in bed, angry or just plain confused, incontenient and not able to recognize anyone. If a person that has AD is an easy to care for person from the beginning to the last stage is there hope that they will die a somewhat peaceful death? I know the chances of being recognized are slim to none, I don't mean that, I mean just a peaceful passing on the the Good Lord. As long as we are on the subject I have another question that I have been hesitant to ask for a long, long time.
What do you do when a person dies from home? Who do you call? I have dealt with death before but it has always been a person that has been in the hospital or in a nursing home and then I just started at the funeral home with the director and gone from there. Forgive me if I have asked an uncomfortable question and feel free for the people in charge here to delete.
When loved ones are in the final stage of Alzheimers, most likely they will be on Hospice. If the loved one is so critical, Hospice may be start "Continuous Care," and Hospice would make the necessary calls- Hospice Social Worker, Mortuary, etc. If the loved one dies without the Hospice person there, then you would call Hospice to come. Hospice is wonderful for your loved one's final months,days, etc. If not on Hospice, I would call the Mortuary and they will direct you. God Bless You!
Sally, Since a person can be mistaken,in our area you call 911.They will do what ever needs to be done.I'm glad you found this web-site,you can always come here for answers and support.WELCOME!!
We can thank God that these days there is 911 and paramedics. But even in the "old days" back in the 40s, basically you called the police and they dealt with whatever needed to be dealt with. When I was a little girl in the Bronx a neighbor's husband died suddenly, and the policeman brought the widow to my mother for her to take her in while they dealt with the situation. I'm pretty sure they called in a doctor to pronounce the death and sign the death certificate.
Back then most of us didn't have our own phones, so you went to the Drug Store or the Candy Store on the ground level and they made the call for you. These days you dial 911.
I've thought this through myself because my husband's pacemaker could just up and stop working. They check it regularly, and it is unlikely to happen any time soon. But with all of his physical health problems it could happen.
Well, since I just went thru this two months ago, I will respond. My husband, 61, had AD for eleven years and the last five were spent in bed, unable to move, speak or do anything. In February he became ill and hospice came on board. When he died 3 weeks later I called the hospice nurse and she came to the house and pronounced him dead, called the mortuary and they came and picked up the body.
Now for the first part of your question....how death occurs...I would imagine that it could be as different as the manifestations of the disease itself. In my case, my husband had aspiration pneumonia and continually got weaker and then the final week refused to eat or drink and his breathing just got shallower and shallower until I suppose he just stopped breathing. I wasn't with him when he died...I woke up in the middle of the night and he was gone...but the last few days were hard to watch but not because he was in anyway suffering, it was just knowing that he was dying and there was nothing I could do for him. When the person quits eating and drinking, the end is usually a very peaceful one and my husband's was no exception.
Having hospice on board is very helpful especially if you are doing end stage care at home. Before I had hospice I had questioned his doctor about what to do when he died. He told me to call the mortuary and they would know what to do....also, he assured me that he would sign the death certificate so there would be no "questions" from authorities. I was pleased that he put Alzheimer's Disease as the cause of death....so many doctors do not...they will put pneumonia or heart failure...and in my husband's case, he would never have had aspiration pneumonia if it were not for the AD. I think it is important to have the real statistic as to how many people actually do die as a direct result of AD.
No, death is not always the same from AD. My husband was still eating the day before he died. He'd been walking around a day or two before, can't remember, but he did just stop breathing, there was no pneumonia, heart failure or anything else. He was given oxygen, did not seem to be in a lot of stress, was calm and peaceful, I don't think he was fully conscious. I never expected him to die that day, I was sure he'd rally again. His death was quite different from others mentioned here. All in all, I feel we were blessed with the way it happened. The death certificate said AD -- and only AD.
Sally, many AD patients do die gentle, peaceful deaths.
I think we may hear more about the horrific ones because their caregivers need so much support to get through such a rough time.
My next-door neighbor's mother recently died of AD. At the end, she was bedridden because she had broken her hip and never fully recovered. She did not recognize her daughters, but she knew they were people she loved, and she was always happy to see them. She just quietly slipped away.
Sunshyne, Thank you for your response. My husband is just so good in following everything I say and just being easy to care for that my most fervent prayer is that he continues the same way. I just never hear of any gentle,peaceful AD folks. You give me something to hold onto. If he should go the other way I might not like it but I will always be there for him till the end. I would say that he is in the 6th stage. Thanks again.