My Nan Has Dvt...

[EllieJP]

they tried her on some medication to thin the blood for about a day but to no avail.. and unfortunately she has a weak heart and have been told by 3 different doctors that surgery is out of the question. That was on Monday.. (She only went into hospital Friday after getting pain suddenly) She also suffers from Alzheimer’s and we thought maybe she’d had a fall and forgotten about it.. But on Friday her legs looked normal.. pink.. healthy.. I saw her left leg for the first time today and it is blue/black and she’s unable to move it at all.. We talked for hours on Friday in A&E.. and now.. my lovely, sweet Nana I can hardly recognise.. Everything about her is different.. Even her voice.. She sounds so weak and frail.. on Friday she was asking me if I could afford trousers that didn’t have rips in the knees.. Being her cheeky self.. everyone commenting on how lovely and sweet she is.. They’re discharging her tomorrow as there’s nothing more they can do for her.. We have carers coming and we will be staying at night with her.. but I don’t know what to expect.. I don’t know what her cause of death is going to be and now they’re saying they don’t know how long she has.. but I don’t know what’s going to kill her? Is it her ‘dead leg’? Is it going to get infected and that be the cause? Is the clot going to dislodge and cause a pulmonary embolism? Or heart attack? I don’t know what the most likely scenario is going to be.. and I just don’t know what to expect..

[bednobs]

Hi Ellie, sorry for what you are going thru at the mo. It seems very unusual for the hospital to try blood thinners for a day - blood thinners wont get rid of the clot she has, but will help to prevent more occurring. Unfortunately, what does seem to happen with elderly people is that if you take them out of their environment, or something happens, they lose a lot of the ability they have and don't regain it. It's impossible to say what will happen to her - I looked after a lady who had alzheimers who was catatonic for several years, so her decline in ability does not necessarily mean she is going to die soon

[rowanwitch]

A piece of the clot might break off and either form a pulmonary embolus, or cause a heart attack. Or a stroke. Any would be relatively kind under the circumstances respiratory depression if she needs strong pain relief might also shorten her life. Best she is cared for at home though, she could have a while yet

[Sqad]

Two excellent and informative contributions from the above two ABers.

Who knows how or when your Nan will die,who knows when anyone will die?

She may well die of something totally unrelated to her DVT of. Which Inwill now comment.
The clot in her leg may well send off an embolus to her lungs , or indeed has already done so, but may not kill her. She may die of a heart attack, but that will have nothing to do with her DVT?
Her leg may become infected but with adequate nursing care this may well be avoided.
I would have thought that the likeliest cause of her death would be the deterioration of her dementia and that may take months or years.

[lady-janine]

Very sorry to read this from you. I know virtually nothing about such medical matters but just hope your Nan does not suffer very much. Unfortunately it seems as though you are going to suffer as much as she does. All best wishes and hopes.