Dad just came home from nursing home with a feeding tube. Unable to walk. My mom is arthritic - difficult for her to attend to him. Nursing will be coming in to assist. Dad cannot have any food or liquids by mouth. He is insistent that he CAN eat. We are concerned because this can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Dad won't listen to anyone. Any suggestions? We feel he may have been discharged from nursing home a bit prematurely.
the eating thing is difficult. he probably craves food - can he have candy to suck on? anything that will dissolve but isn't really "substantial" food? I wish I had some advice but that's a new one to me. Best of luck
write down a list of any questions u might have,
the name of the person who discharged him-the doctor/nurse/
the name should be on his discharge papers-
if not if u call, all of that is on record- whether they are going to be helpful or not is another story-
but if u can speak to someone there- they should beable to tell u.
maybe contact the patient advocate-usually there but for some reason, no one tells u that.
be strong- and persistant- u have a right to get the info u need to care for your dad-
good lock-
k
It is not unusual for a patient to be sent home with a feeding tube. The patients are discharged to their "home" after the procedure, whether that is a nursing home or their personal home. There has to be someone who can take care of the patient wherever they are sent. The nursing home may believe that the nurses coming to the home are sufficient. As far as a nursing home discharging your dad, I am not for sure what to think of it. I would definitely talk with their patient representative and your dad's doctor about the situation as well as learn as much as possible about feeding tubes and your dad's particular need for one.
Outside staffing has been coming into my parents' home this past week. Speech therapist believes my dad has acid reflux and a possibility of a diverticuli on the side of his throat area, which she says could be causing the coughing. She had some very negative opinions about his aspiration pneumonia. She gave him a trial of water, apple sauce and apple juice. He began coughing only with the water...
The bigger concern now is my mom. Bless her heart -- she's a trooper but we can see she is looking tired and her arthritis and fibromyalgia has exasperated. My dad is demanding, particularly towards my mom. Changing his diaper and dealing with hygiene has been a concern, too. My niece has been going over in am and pm to change him and get him into bed...my dad's getting a bit "lazy." We've seen him do things on his own but on occasion now, he'll say he can't.
Really, at this point, we're concerned about my mom. Yet, how can we say, "dad, this isn't working out at home..."? Very difficult.
Family dynamics are quite interesting right now, too. Stress, emotions, finger-pointing,...come conflict.
Very difficult...
My appreciation and love goes out to all of you. Blessings and encouragement to you. We all need to stay strong and support one another.
Prayers go out to everyone.
B
Best regards.