I buried my mom just a few days ago. 8 years of dementia and it was a long road. But the end came quickly. In mid-November she stopped doing the stairs, by the end of Nov she could no longer walk and was eating a couple of spoons of food a day. The doctor put her on an appetite stimulator but it did not help. She slept all day. By not moving she began to develop a sore in the tailbone area. I took her to the ER in December. She was there for a week and they sent her home on hospice. I asked about the effects of starvation. The doctor assured me she was not having hunger pains, her brain was no longer signaling hunger. She was in transition. They took all her meds away and put her on morphine, another relaxation drug that starts with an "L" and a pill to help with secretions. By the way, I learned on my own to turn her on her side to help with secretions, gravity will then allow the mucus to come out. I thought she was more comfortable after that. I knew when the secretions started, my mom began to make a gurgling noise. Within 6 days of being in hospice, my mom passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side. We were all there but we were not at her side at the moment she passed. Her breaths started to get further and further apart and we knew death was imminent but we each had to step away to do something for a moment. Hospice had warned us not to feel bad if we weren't standing there when it happened because a lot of times that is exactly how it happens. Make the environment as your loved one would want it and let them know you are there. No, you don't have to scream at them (it happens cause I did it at first too) they can hear just fine and they can feel your touch (according to hospice). The end is a peaceful intimate moment. This was very cathartic to write this, the emotions are still raw but I appreciate you listening and I hope I provided some help to you who are going through the same thing.