Unable to eat

I asked this question before: how long can a person last if she were unable to eat?

Brother said he has been trying to see if the hospital can send someone home to administer iv nutrients, because frankly what mum eats during the day is not enough to sustain her bodily needs.

"She told me again she wants to go to the hospital..." Which is something rare, for she detests hospitals. But perhaps she feels that she cannot go on for long without proper nutrition. "But don't worry, don't rush back here. It's not necessary..."

Moments later, mum came on the phone. She "complained" that calling twice a day is calling too often. I tried to joke that it's just breakfast and dinner. I don't call at lunch, because it's far too late for me given the time difference.

"I have so little 'meat' on my arse it hurts to sit long..." she complained. Those words seemed to slide over me, and I did not have a response. I was not sure what I could say that did not sound fake. And truth be told, I was rushing to catch a flight to go see my ex in a last-minute decision I made just a few hours earlier before I fell asleep.

"Nothin tastes the same anymore... I had some grapes and they tasted spicy," mum said. Spicy, as in the taste of chilly. How can something sweet taste like chilly?

"I did have a cup of fruit juice, which your brother made, and I finished it all. But I felt so bloated after that..."

I did not have a proper response to mum's complaints. What could I say? Really, what could I say? So very very little...