Mom's body is shutting down

My sister slept on the couch outside my Mom's bedroom last night.

I slept in my bed, but set the alarm to get up at 3:00.

At 3:00, I gave Mom some more morphine and ativan, to be sure she was comfortable the rest of the night.

I got up again around 7:00. Mom was awake, she was not having trouble breathing.

I gave her a little more morphine and ativan, and then went back to bed.

I must have slept well, as I had a dream (or nightmare) that we took Mom to the hospital, and she had recovered enough that she was eating. I say this was a nightmare, because after seeing my Mother gasp for air yesterday, I just can't imagine having her recover, to some day go through that again.

The nurse came around 11:00. She says Mom's oxygen level is around 85%, she has a fever of 104 (which apparently is normal when the body starts shutting down). She says the fever is not from an infection. There are some sounds in the left lung now. There is what they call "motteling" (bluish skin) in the hands. Apparently one sees this when the oxygen in the blood is reduced.

However, my Mom's heart is strong as a race horse, and her pulse is fast.

That is not really surprising. I know the only reason my Mother has survived all of her strokes is because she has a strong heart.

We are giving her ice chips, but that's it. She seems to somewhat know what is going on. She is not in pain, nor in distress.

That's what's important.