So here's what happened...

I will try to remember much of what happened with my b/f's Mother.

The saga began about a month prior, when Lilian (not her real name) was on a cruise.

She became very short of breath, and was given oxygen onboard the ship, but then sent to a hospital on shore to be checked out. This was in Mexico. The Dr. at the hospital stated she had "water on the lungs". She was allowed to return to the ship.

After returning home, she went to her regular family Dr., who checked her out, and informed her it was probably due to too much salty food onboard the cruise ship.

When I spoke with her on the phone after this, and she told me what the Dr., had stated, I told her "well, that probably means you have a heart condition", to which she replied "oh, yes, I have 2 bad valves".

After this declaration, there was much back and forth between my b/f, his sister, and their Mother, with the end result being she did not want to entertain the idea of surgery. Her Dr. had assured her the problem could be controlled with diet, medication, and I presume exercise.

I spoke with her on the phone again, to inquire if there was oxygen available where she lived (she lives in a continuing care community)
and she assured me there was a nurse available with oxygen. I even confirmed that she had the phone number of the nurse, and I urged her to call the nurse if she felt short of breath.

Thinking I had done what I could, I put it out of my mind.

Of course, that was not be be.

......