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He is also diabetic and has had a quadruple bypass. He has 5 stents that have been put in place since his open heart surgery. In March he had 2 strokes, a mild heart attack, blood and kidney infections. In September, he had a severe bladder and kidney infection and he was urinating pure blood. He was also dehydrated.

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Definitely call hospice. It sounds as if their specialized comfort care is needed.

As to the stages, their are four stage and seven stage scales depending on the organization however your husbands many health issues plus his obviously advanced Alzheimer's would indicate a need for comfort care.

Take care of yourself, too. This is tough to go through and hospice is generally good about providing guidance for the family.
Carol
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Call hospice and have him evaluated. That's not a decision you need to make. If he fits their criteria and you're comfortable not calling 911and administering only comfort care, call them. They'll let you know.

Me personally? I'd call them.
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I'm with Maggie on this.
Not sure when your husband is now (I'm assuming in a nursing home?)
I'm also assuming Palliative care at home for him at this point is not an option/something you would want to consider?

Wow, he has fought through an awful lot hasn't he? Had a tough time of it. Just been through this with my mum. She ended up contracting pneumonia and it took her in a week. (Was actually very peaceful way for her to go, so after all the medical poking and prodding and trying to get her over the latest ailment, she was literally at peace.
(Some people said 'It must be a relief', but that made me very mad. It was not a 'relief' for me. I adored my mum and we were given hope she would pull through 2 weeks before she died)
But I can see that for mum it was probably the kindest thing. It stopped being clear whether she was fighting to live, or whether it was just us fighting to keep her with us. I think for the last couple of months it was probably the latter.
It was incredibly hard to accept we 'had' to give up fighting. But once we did, a kind of peace settled on us all. The fact that I was no longer constantly going nose to nose with over-stretched hospital consultants over her treatment did enable me to just spend time with her holding her hand, and reassuring her I'd look after dad and my siblings. (She died 2 hours after that)

I will say prayers for you both at this time.
Big hug.
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Yes, I am sending prayers for you and your husband, Diana. He has been through so much already and with Stage 6 it must be really hard for him to understand any of what is happening to him. My husband is at late stage 6 too and he is perfectly healthy. I would be grateful the the end is near for him. I would call Hospice too. He should't have to go through any more treatments. He has fought a good fight! I hope you don't take what I said the wrong way. We are grateful for time with our beloved, but we are all headed in the same direction. I believe that God is there for all of us. And something that our priest said made me feel really comforted. When you get to heaven, your body and mind are fully restored. When you get there your husband will be as you knew him when he was healthy. That thought really brings me comfort. I hope it does for you too.
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Courage, Call Hospice. My prayers are with you
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My thoughts are same as the others. I, do, have a question - hope you don't mind my asking here. How do you know what stage a person is in? My husband has had Alzheimer's ( or dementia) for several years. Not sure how many yrs. - who can tell? I have never had anyone mention what stage?
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Your husband is showing signs and symptoms of the end of life. Perhaps hospice is your next choice. My prayers are with you.
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The Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, AZ which specializes in research and study for Alzheimer's and dementia only lists four stages of Alzheimer's - mild, moderate, severe and death.
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Call hospice. They will make him comfortable and they will be there for the family too. My prayers are with you during this difficult time.
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to CampyB, just google Alzheimer's and you will get lots of sites that will list the stages. Some list 7 and some list 4. My husband is not bedridden yet. In fact he is extremely healthy, except that I have to help him do every detail of his daily living activities. He can't dress himself, can't turn on the TV, can't operate any kind of technology, can't get into bed alone without my help, can't get his own lunch, or remember to eat it. If he is eating, and gets up to go to the bathroom by himself he will forget he was eating and go and watch the TV without finishing. He can still go to the bathroom, but he wears Depends. He doesn't remember to wipe himself or wash his hands. Doesn't know how to brush his teeth! Cant even use the electric shaver! He is basically helpless without me. If I ask him for a glass of water, he doesn't know what I mean. We are at late stage 6 and will be in 7 soon. That is when he forgets who I am and starts having hallucinations, etc.
At 7 they usually become bedridden, and forget how to swallow, everything goes then! I hope you are not at that point now!
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