feeding tube decision

[Joy_gitt]

hi everyone my precious 81 yr old dad 20 years with PD my hero

Is sadly losing his battle with PD

He has had a very rough couple of weeks first fell broke his hip & had surgery to repair in hospital over a week

Then while recovering from that contracted RSV and double pneumonia.

Back to hospital for another week on oxygen tons of antibiotics got through that

Back home now “extremely” week fatigued hasn’t eaten well in weeks now

having more swallowing issues now even on liquid only diet still having lung congestion and hard breathing

We had wanted to wait to see if he would rally when we got home to eat but he hasn’t, not sure if we should place a Feeding Tube or not at this point

I wanted to know your experiences with Feeding Tube‘s in these types of situations

I’m just completely heartbroken 💔 for my Dad and all he has had to go through

[MBAnderson]

I cannot help with your feeding tube decision, sorry, but your dad is lucky to have you looking after him. It will take time for him to fully recover.

[DEAT]

All the best to you and your Dad. It is so sad to have your Dad dealing with all this.Blessings for a quick recovery.

[LeharLover62]

So sorry you are in this situation. It must be very difficult.

When hubby was in the hospital for a bad cold, he was wouldn’t eat, mainly due to weakness and fatigue. We opted not to do the tube and wait another day or two for him to recover, which thankfully he did. Hubby is much younger, did not have pneumonia, and is not at all frail. He also would have tried to pull the tube out, as he pulls everything off when he’s ill.

I would weigh the factors, but if he is losing weight and becoming frail without the tube, you may have to try it.

Also make sure the liquid diet you are giving him is palatable and something he likes…sometimes that’s a part of the problem (especially with hospital food) and time the feedings for when he is alert..,not according to your schedule.

I assume he’s had speech therapy or an ent evaluate his swallowing so you are making sure he doesn’t aspirate?

[Agnes1234]

Feeding tubes can also cause a host of problems that can worsen congestion. Have you had the chance to have a serious "goals of care" conversation with him and his medical team? Perhaps a consultation with a local hospice provider can provide some options regardless of whether or not he chooses to do a feeding tube.

[Tribselyov]

Consider hospice