Saturday, part 1.

My brother and Liz went in to see Isobel at mid-day. She was fast asleep and they only stayed for fifteen minutes. Isobel had eaten and drunk very little since Iona and I visited yesterday.

Iona and I arrived almost at the same time Keith and Liz left, but somehow managed to miss seeing them. Isobel's lunch had arrived and the carer was failing to get Isobel to eat anything. We took over and had the same problem. I managed to get several small spoonfuls of yogurt and a little thickened orange squash inside her teeth and observed what I thought were swallowing actions. However, after a few minutes all the food she had taken re-appeared gradually out of the side of her mouth, not accompanied by vomiting. It is apparent that Isobel is no longer able to swallow in any effective way but accumulates food inside the mouth temporarily - potentially dangerous as it may pass into the airway. Isobel is deeply asleep most of the time and does not appear to be in any pain or discomfort.

There is no panic at the moment over Isobel's failure to eat food. The greatly reduced fluid intake is concerning, although urine is still being produced showing she is not seriously dehydrated at present. The Centre are arranging for a doctor to authorise the establishment of a drip for rehydration and will also be speaking to the Ellenor Trust Nothing that has happened in the past few days is a complete surprise although it has occurred more suddenly than anticipated.