What Was "The End" Like?

[Anonymous]

How do the elderly die? The seriously old? How did it end? Out of the blue? Noticeable mental decline? What?

[Anonymous]

Lack of oxygen. This ended up being true for my parent. Died in the hospital, 81, poor physical health but sharp young mind. I watched it happen, he went into a death coma and then passed away shortly after.

[Anonymous]

My grandmother died at 102. It was a very slow decline over 7 years after she broke her hip at 95 and lost mobility, though she was able to walk with a cane/walker until around 99. She remained mentally sharp and was relatively healthy, only taking meds for BP, until the last year when she stopped speaking in full sentences and eventually died in her sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of oxygen. This ended up being true for my parent. Died in the hospital, 81, poor physical health but sharp young mind. I watched it happen, he went into a death coma and then passed away shortly after.

What caused the lack of oxygen? Was it anything you could see?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grandmother died at 102. It was a very slow decline over 7 years after she broke her hip at 95 and lost mobility, though she was able to walk with a cane/walker until around 99. She remained mentally sharp and was relatively healthy, only taking meds for BP, until the last year when she stopped speaking in full sentences and eventually died in her sleep.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

My great aunt lived to see her 100th birthday. At that point, she was living on her own and driving a very short route on her very rural road to church. She looked 75 and was sharp as a tack at her party.

A few months later, she went into the hospital. She slept a lot but was still really sharp. I walked in to visit and she said “why aren’t you at work!” She eventually just stopped and passed.

[Anonymous]

It varies. In my husband there have been more peaceful endings-in sleep within a few days of going downhill from an illness or experimental treatment. In my family it has been a living h3ll ranging from no longer able to walk/talk/feed self/use bathroom on own and then dying of pneumonia to grueling cancer treatments for a year with misery and suffering from every side effect only to die of a heart attack in the night. Whenever I hear an elderly person died in their sleep peacefully I think "thank goodness the person didn't suffer."

[Anonymous]

My grandfather was just shy of 99, he died from a combination of kidney failure and heart failure - the treatment for each harms the other, so a decision was made to stop treatment altogether. He declined fairly rapidly and died within a few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Diabetes, aka, death by a thousand cuts. Infection, first the big toe was amputated, then the foot, then below the knee. Eventually, he didn't make it through a surgery. His spouse also didn't make it through surgery, but the surgery was for something else

[Anonymous]

1) Declined due to Parkinsons over 15 years. The doctor told us it was likely he would die while sleeping because apparently that's a Parkinson's thing. After a few weeks of an overall health decline, died in the night in his own bed. Age 94.

2) Sharp and somewhat mobile but obviously declining over a year or so. Didn't feel well, buzzed the AL nurse, the nurse came and found her deceased in her usual chair. Age 92.

3) Age 75, went to Bahamas with girlfriend, had a heart attack while swimming in the ocean and collapsed on the beach.

[Anonymous]

My dad and grandmother stopped drinking and eating. My dad didn't have any water for 4.5 days. I didn't think it was possible. It was torture. My grandma, 2.5 days. You basically slip out of consciousness. Both cancer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dad and grandmother stopped drinking and eating. My dad didn't have any water for 4.5 days. I didn't think it was possible. It was torture. My grandma, 2.5 days. You basically slip out of consciousness. Both cancer.

Also this, also cancer. It was bad but we had a lot of morphine to give him at least thanks to hospice.

[Anonymous]

"Elderly" begins at 65.

I think you are referring to an age much older than that.

[Anonymous]

Was wondering this myself. My parents have multiple comorbid conditions yet have been stable on medication for years. I only have reference to my grandparents and it was either sudden like a heart attack, or a brief fight with cancer at various ages.

[Anonymous]

progressive dementia, then fell/broke pelvis, then on hospice, a few weeks where she talked a bit and ate here and there but stopped getting up and moving, then stopped really being consicous of what was happening, stopped really eating, then only drinking a little, then a few days of labored breathing, then a few hours of really labored breathing (despite all the morphine and ativan), and then it all stopped. I was there for it all. It was devastating but also a privilege to be with her for her last breaths. I am grateful she was not in a hospital.

For my MIL, it was kidney stones/UTI/sepsis/ICU, then rehab, but she got progressively weaker, with some fluid in lungs and some trouble swallowing. We think she may have choked on applesauce given to her for her meds. she took the applesauce and meds, they left, 20 minutes later she was dead.