some insight into why Mom can't swallow

Yesterday I spoke with Theresa, the hospice nurse, and she said she and Pat, the other nurse, spoke with all the nurses and therapists at the nursing home, and they are feeling that Mom must have had an "event" (i.e. a small stroke, perhaps) which has caused her to not be able to swallow well, and usually now she cannot swallow at all. Heather, one of the physical therapists, commented that before Mom went to the hospital for her blood clot in her leg in September, she noticed one day as Mom was sitting in the activity room, that her face looked like it was drooping. She is thinking back to that observation and they are trying to put the pieces together. Theresa has examined Mom's mouth and does not find anything that would be blocking her swallowing. We try pressing on the front of Mom's throat to get a swallowing reflex, and usually nothing happens.