"So, the 'artificial means' wasn't even necessary, just convenient."
The tubes happen often in patients for this very reason. Without it,it can takes an hour or more just to get one meal down, it's usually either hurried, or not really finished because the aide has other things to do, or finished real hurriedly, and it's boring to give little sips over and over. And there are other patients to care for. So a tube is often for convenience. But the doing of it makes her swallowing reflexes less used, and more prone towards atrophy.
This is why I encourage people to bring your loved ones into your home. It's hard. A convenience tube wouldn't even be wrong necessarily. But a facility is paid money to do certain things, and doesn't even do it, like now.
Like Dr. Laura is her kid's Mom, let us be our "family's family." The reason why the neurologists say she is in a PVC is because they try to lessen the guilty conscience of those who leave their loved oned in a home. They try to be consistent.
Thank-you.