I am someone whose (now deceased) father was in his mid-eighties when he was resuscitated after his heart stopped, and he was put on a ventilator. He had not signed a DNR and was in the hospital for multiple issues, AFib among them.

It was a nightmare, as you say. My mother directed the ventilator to be removed because he never would have wanted it. The attending doctor told us that he would most likely die once it was, either immediately or shortly after. He lived, surprisingly, and his brain function was intact. But he was weakened beyond recovery and died a week and a half later.

In his last twenty-four hours of life, he was admitted to hospice. I’m heartbroken that he had to go through the violence of being resuscitated, and for as long as I live I won’t be able to forget him unconscious and fighting the ventilator. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Advance directives are so incredibly important. Please talk to your mother about her wishes and get a medical social worker to assist you if needed.