Life Expectancy

My 90-year-old Mother has end-stage CHF.  We are thankful to be using the Palliative care from Hospice. Mother is growing weaker daily.  Last week's labwork indicated everything in normal range with the exception of what the doctor had circled, as follows:

White Blood Cell Count 2.4
Glom Filt RAte, Est : 50
Thyroid 24.481
B-Type Natriuretic Peptide 862.7 - next to this doctor states, "May relate to congestive heart failure."

Do you expect my mother to be here Christmas?  Also, is 'sudden' death more likely, or what should I expect in regard to my Mother's passing?  What should I look for?

Advice on a personal situation:

We are about to remodel the kitchen, so I have a question relating to following through with it at this time. (I think it helps to get my mind away from the inevitable, but I still want to do what is best for my mother.)  The contractor tells us that he will be inside the house for 10 days.  I will move the microwave and coffee pots to the other end of the house where Mother and I will live during this time.  Once this is over, we will both be happy.  However, I'm wondering if we should go through with this as scheduled. I've never remodeled until now, so I don't know what to expect.  I am to sign the contract this week.

I am treasuring each moment with my mother, so please do not tell me to do this as others do.  I simply want to know your thoughts from a medical standpoint.  Know that I appreciate the services you render on this website,  It is so wonderful, and I can tell that I'm one of many who appreciates you.

Sincerely,
Bev

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

Hi  Bev,
I am sorry to hear that your mother is not doing well.  I find estimating life expectancy to very difficult.  I have seen people be given months to live and make it more than 10 years and others be given years and make it months.  It is a very humbly aspect of medicine.  Your doctor probably thinks life expectancy is less than 6 months because they have ordered hospice.

I can't give you a good answer on the question of how long and if she will be here for Christmas.  There is just no way to answer that one.

People with advanced heart failure like your mother are more likely to die from pump failure.  Organ slowly start to not work as well because they aren't getting enough blood/oxygen.  That might be one reason why her white blood cell count is decreased.  It looks like her kidney function is relatively good.  Sudden death is also very common in advanced heart failure.

Re: renovations.  If you she is doing ok, I would do the renovations.  You may have months or longer -- you just don't know.  This is a situation that you don't have a lot of control over and like many things in life, you need to keep living.  Cherish your time.

I hope this helps.

[Bev170]

I don't understand that her kidney function is "relatively good."  According to websites pertinent to kidney disease, she is in renal failure.

However, I appreciate your responses concerning other questions posed.  It may be that you are suggesting that her kidney function is "relatively good" considering her end-stage heart failure.  Could that be it?

Thanks for your prompt response to my question.  You are appreciated.

[twinbee]

I agree with Dr. McWilliams. My 80 year old mother was in the hospital for CHF in January 07. She was released from the hospital and put into hospice care. Her doctor told us that she didn't have much time left and would be surprised if she lasted more than a couple of weeks. It is now November 2008 and my mother is still with us. She is off hospice and all her doctors can only tell us is that she is a "miracle". My family just takes one day at time and enjoy her as much as we can because we never know what will happen next. Just don't give up hope. .

[Bev170]

Thank you for your comment. I certainly relate to the one-day-at-a-time lifestyle.  Sometimes it can get down to 5 minutes at a time, but that's okay.  We still have our mothers.  I'm thankful for a better understanding, thanks to Dr. McWilliams, my Mother's doctor, and people like you on this website. :)