@compmom You must be relieved that it’s over and it went so well. Best wishes to both of you.
@compmom glad it went well and she is on the mend. She is in good hands. Don’t forget to care for yourself A LOT, too.
Phew! Thanks for posting that she did ok with surgery. That must be a huge relief!
@compmom - glad she tolerated the surgery. You pose good questions about what comes next. FWIW, post-hospital rehab can make a huge difference as senior muscles waste quickly. It allows for built-in care and assessment as her recovery continues and how close she gets to her pre-hospitalization baseline is revealed. Rehab is pro-active with an emphasis on PT, restoring function, etc. In this case, it sounds like your mother is re-starting her digestive track, too. Putting together such a comprehensive amount of care in AL, with you “sleeping” there may be a challenge. If she continues to struggle in big ways, it tends her while you consider the next steps. Of course, all of this is not one size fits all, but rehab made a huge difference to my mother and mil that was important at transitional times.
You are the daughter anyone would be grateful for; hang in there and do your best to take breaks as possible.
You are all so nice. My mother this morning “What surgery?” 
My cousin’s wife is a social worker at hospice and had a few tips for me. Travelnut is right and I appreciate the suggestion. Rehab or intermediate nursing home may be needed for recovery period. The AL is not going to be enough, at least for the short term.
Have a good weekend and best wishes to all.
Glad she did so well with surgery @compmom. I agree that rehab seems best for her.
They will probably suggest rehab in a nursing home, I suppose…that’s okay. As long as they work on her getting stronger and we can safely evaluate her behavior around the colostomy bag
I don’t know if they will work on her INR getting up in the hospital but they definitely won’t discharge until she has eaten. She hasn’t eaten in 16 days!
Thank you GTalum and others. Tomorrow I will be talking with case managers.
My mother is struggling with eating, she really needs finger foods and we are running out of ideas, any one have creative finger food ideas?
@compmom - most rehab is done in a skilled nursing care facility. It works well post-hospitalization as the nursing care and relevant therapies are built-in. Makes sense to have medical folks evaluate what happens when she starts eating again, too. Rehab places usually have case managers who will work with you on appropriate discharge plans almost from the point of admission. Of course, it is a moving target as some regain baseline strengths and others don’t. Post-hospital and rehab can be a convenient, less difficult time to implement a move if deemed necessary. Sometimes, the elder can be set up directly post-rehab discharge in the new place and then the former residence is sorted out in the manner that creates the least stress all around. No one size fits all.
@somemom- does your mother have trouble with chewing and/or swallowing or managing utensils?
I’m hoping you’ve eaten in the last 16 days! Take good care.
My mother is confused and thinks she does t have to pee in the toilet anymore! At least that shows she remembers something changed!!! She’s been in rehab before but not a nursing home. She doesn’t remember assisted living so yes good time for changes. ?
Having the bag may change the level of service she qualifies for. I think it can be a huge issue for you to be solely responsible for that 24/7. Please ask about maintenance of this. A liquid or jello diet doesn’t change how the digestive system cycles. Accidents can happen, etc.
somemom, does the food have to be a certain consistency?
@somemom mini quiches?
Little hotdogs wrapped in dough?
@somemom - Flatbreads (which you can top with almost anything), wraps, chicken and fish tenders, soups that can be pureed and drank from a mug without utensils.
@compmom, so far it just needs to be easy to pick up. She’s become the master of deconstructed food, no more lettuce or tomato on a sandwich, she can eat a real hot dog, a tuna muffin where it sort of stays together; quesadillas have been great, we should add other wraps!
On bad days she cannot figure out how to drink soup or coffee from a mug, on good days, she is fine. The hallmark of Lewy Body is fluctuation and it is so dramatic!
Oh I was going to second the soup in a mug idea, but sounds like that varies. Does she like fruit? Cut up veggies? How about sushi?! Crackers with tuna or peanut butter? Cut up granola bars? If her teeth are okay and there is no choking risk…
@somemom, can she drink through a straw? Maybe those fat Smoothie straws for soup?
@somemom: Here is a link for spinach cheese squares. While the recipe is a bit “old school”, the good thing is that these squares can be frozen after baking in single serve size and easily re-heated as needed. If handling mini-cubes is better, they can be cut into bite sized pieces before freezing. An easy riff on a mini-quiche.
I’m not sure this needs to be actual “finger” foods. Why can’t, eg, a soft cutlet be cut into finger food size? We did that for our kids when they wanted fish sticks and what was on hand were fillets. Same with lots of foods we resize for kids.