Intubated and Heart Stops?

[dsacoda]

Hello all,

I wrote a little bit ago about my mom. My mom was finally released home after 40 days in the hospital. They said she was stable enough to come home and she was supposed to start Physical Therapy. We were happy to have her home because she was suffering from bouts of delirium and we wanted her to have familiar surroundings. She was so happy to be home and she ate really well when she got home and was awake and talking to visitors. Just as a brief summary (feel free to read my previous post), she had muscle degeneration suddenly in her entire body and she suffered from severe edema in the hospital. She was stuck in one hospital that thought she had cancer and didn't give her treament for two weeks. Then in the end was sent to a nursing facility that was supposed to give her PT but never did so she layed in a bed again for several weeks.

By the day that I flew down to be with my mom, which was the 4th day she was home, she was not waking up. She was sleeping soundly and snoring. The nurse visited the day before and said she probably had just been through a lot and that he had seen that a lot. But by the time I got there, she had slept for about 24 hours without being waken. We called emergency and they said she had "blood as thin as water" and her blood pressure was so low that they couldn't get a reading and she needed to go to the Emergency Room. When she got there, they intubated her and her heart stopped. They were unable to resuscitate her. I guess I am having a real hard time understanding why they would intubate her if she was breathing so well and even snoring? Does anybody have any theories what would cause her to be stable and then after just a few days her blood be so thin and her pressure so low? The not knowing at this point is just adding to my grief and pain. If I just knew what probably happened, I think I would feel a little more settled. The day after she passed, I received the final PET scan. She didn't have cancer.

Thank you!

[LesAnne]

Im very sorry you lost your mum. I know from personal experience that Sepsis causes very low blood pressure and extreme lethargy. Have you asked the hospital for a cause of death and an explanation of the treatment your mum received. If you put your request in writing they have to answer. I hope that you get answers and those answers alleviate your pain in a slight way. Healing hugs Lesley-Anne x

[dsacoda in reply to LesAnne]

Thank you for this. I will look into Sepsis. We asked for an autopsy, since she was in the hospital for over 40 days and they never did figure out a diagnosis, but sent her home saying she was stable. 4 days later she was in a different hospital's ER, and they immediately intubated her. I requested a cause of death and they just said "natural causes" and they refused to do an autopsy because of this, but it is just confusing to the family how an otherwise healthy woman suddenly can't walk and gets extreme edema all over her body and is deemed "natural causes."...?!