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Avatar universal

End of life question

I’m a nursing student and my husband granny is dying. She is stage 3 palliative and a type 1 diabetic. I showed up 5 hours ago and her bp was 114/40 Hr 100 o2 was 88 puples are non reactive to light and are the size of pin heads BG 7.7. Now bp is “normal” 131/65 hr has spiked to 135 and as low as 60 o2 levels have been sitting around 30-40. Chest sounds like a cat purring. BG 19.9 She has a DNR and we are just waiting it out. I guess my question is there a “normal” clinical picture of how someone shuts down? I’m just so surprised someone can continue to breath at 30% o2. I’m assuming the brain hasn’t gotten enough oxygen and she won’t be coming back. Is that a fair assumption?
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Avatar universal
Honestly, it's pretty remarkable what the body can do.  Depending on a cells survival instincts, we do have anerobic capacity.

With that said she sounds elderly, correct?

Nurse here... What is BG?  You mean abg?

I'm sorry, this must be difficult for you to see.

My prayers are with you!
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2 Comments
Yes she was elderly. She had 3 significant falls in the last 3 months and 3 within a 8hr time frame(all blood sugar related) She had been in Ketoacidosis twice in the last year. Her Blood glucose levels were in the high 20s. She ended up passing away this morning. It was so interesting watching her HR go from 70s to142 within hours and then back down. You are 100%, it’s amazing what the body can actually do. She lasted 56 hours with NPO and being completely unresponsive.
I'm so sorry!  Are you ok?
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