My DW not eating

Hi, ask her if her gums are sore. My mother is like that when her gums are sore.

In addition to teeth and gums, I'd check to see if there's any type of medical problem (you mentioned large bruise on stomach). You may also want to have a swallow study done to see if there is a reason she is denying thin liquids and foods that need to be chewed but finishing up a milkshake consistency drink right away.

Unless the staff think she has delirium caused by a clear trigger, I would not assume she didn’t get lasting effects from that brain bleed. I would ask yourself what goals you have for her remaining time on earth. Forgive my frankness here. No one with a brain bleed, much less a dementia patient, escapes with zero brain injury. I am biased because I feel that minimizing medical interventions and allowing someone to be comfortable are the right goals at this point. I would be getting a hospice consult and not getting any more medical care except inpatient hospice for pain management if she has another catastrophic fall with pain that can’t be managed with oral medicine. They can check her for a UTI but my hunch is that progression is what caused this behavior. Hospice consult and likely either skilled nursing facility or memory care if her medical needs are manageable there. I would strongly consider asking to speak in person with the physician in charge there and get a very honest unflinching opinion about her condition.

People choose to stop eating because they (in mind or body) are getting ready to go. There is no sense in making them eat or worrying about it. Their bodies are going to continue to fail, their minds are going to continue to fail, you can’t change this. You can drag it out, but why make them suffer longer than nature’s course. Follow her lead. Offer food, but don’t force it.

My mother's recovery on hospice improved significantly when she began eating her favorite foods. Before that she hardly ate anything and had a g-tube placed.