How long does my grandfather have?

[LISA150]

My grandfather is in end stage CHF he is being released from the hospital because there is nothing more to do for him about getting the fluid out, he is on oxygen and has been in & out of the hospital for the last 5 months.  They have started him on morophene to relieve some of the pain.  When a person gets to this stage how long do they usually last?  He is going to be 88.

[ireneo]

There's no clear answer. My Dad was classified as end stage heart failure. His ICD kept firing off, they couldn't seem to stabilize him, etc. They started him on hospice care at home. He had all the oxygen tanks around the house, the morphine available and most any other med he wanted. The docs kept fiddling with his meds (he was not very cooperative at the time). He finally ended up on Amiodarone which worked well for him. After 6 months he was so stable they stopped hospice care. That was  1 1/2 years ago. He is still declining but slowly. He tends to sleep more, can't go out much except for lunch now and then. But he's still with us. He's going to be 80 in July if he hangs in there.

So don't give up yet. The fluid retention can be managed to some degree. Is he on hospice care? They were great about monitoring everything at home. Just having them stop by a couple times a week did wonders for my Dad's attitude. He didn't feel so alone and abandoned. There was the hospice nurse, the hospice chaplain and a volunteer that would visit, just chat with my Dad for 4 hours to give my  Mom a break. I hope you have more time with your grandfather, more than you expect. It's a gift.