Hi everyone..I have kind of a strange question to ask...... for those of you who have taken care of a dying person....have you ever noticed the way their eyes appear before anything else gives you a clue that the end is very near????
I am asking because my uncle is actually in the hospital as we speak and it isn't looking good at all..it's literally a matter of time...He has COPD, emphysema and was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of 2004....he has really gone down hill fast the last few months.
Today he looked horrible...his VS were Temp 97.0, pulse 98, BP 94/58, RR 36 with alot of abdominal breathing, 02 sat 97% on 15 liters with a rebreather mask and his co2 level is 60...it was 75 the other day. I think my aunt said....
His cheeks look kinda dusky/purply but the rest of his body..the arms & legs are pale......and when he lifts his arms up they shake like someone who has parkinsons...and one thing that really got my attention was the way his eyes looked...they are really dull looking and almost appear cloudy sort of...not nice & shiny & clear like a normal eye would look and his pupils look big.......... it really made me wonder if the end is alot closer than we realize...I mean they didn't expect him to last more than 24 hours Thursday from what my aunt was saying because he was so bad when he was sent to the hospital from the rehab place he was at, hoping to get better enough to go home,...his 02 level was 62% & lots of dyspnea there, which was why they sent him out.......yes he is a dnr because he doesn't want any life support or anything.......he really has a horrible quality of life at this point..........so am I seeing what I would describe as "death eyes" or can it just be from him not getting enough oxygen perfusion due to his over all condition????? He can only speak a little more than a whisper because his breathing is so hard & takes so much energy & he asked me what day it is today....so unlike him .......I really sadly hope that his suffering ends soon as it is so hard to watch such a thing happening to a person who was so independant doing everything...now he can't even sit up in a chair....and he isn't eating or anything now....but he has an iv & they were starting ppn nutrition tonight because of it......so basically I just wanted to know if the eyes looking the way they are confirm my suspicions......Thanks if anyone has any experience with this ...
