What happens when your liver fails?

My boyfriends mother is dying from liver failure. She just got home from Hospice and now has 24 hour nurse care. This is my first time dealing with something like this and I know that you cannot live without your liver, it is a vital organ. I know that the livers primary function is to clean out all the toxic and harmful stuff we ingest. I know that you turn yellow and I know that you fill up with fluid and its mainly bile.
What I want to know is, is she in pain?
How long is she going to be like this for? Duration?
She is very in and out of it, mainly sleeping, but she still has a bit of spunk left.
Will she die while sleeping?
Will it be a gasping for breath type of thing?
I just don't want her to be in pain and I want to know if she is going to die peacefully.
Please don't respond if your going to be inconsiderate about the whole thing. Please have a prayer for her as well :)

I am a hospice care provider. I have been with many individuals who have taken their last breath after suffering liver failure. For the most part the nurse and the hospice doctor will give appropriate medication to help with breathing and control pain. If she has difficulty breathing use oxygen.
It would be inappropriate to even predict how anyone could or would end their days here on yahoo answers or anywhere else for that matter. Take one day and at times just one hour at a time and focus on making her as comfortable as possible.
May peace be with you and your family during this difficult time.

well defintly pray as much as u can. but they are probly going to do surgury. (a liver transplant) but there could be a line for that transplant. she will probly jus wait and see if they can get a transplant for her. but there is plenty hope

Liver failure is not a pleasant way to die. It is usually quick. The liver also works in clotting blood, so many times patients bleed out when they have liver failure. It is hard to say how long it will take. If she is on Hospice now, I would say less than six months but maybe as little as a few days to a week.
Hospice will make sure she dies with adequate pain control and dignity.

However, as liver failure progresses, the symptoms become more serious, requiring urgent care. These symptoms include:

Jaundice
Bleeding easily
Swollen abdomen
Mental disorientation or confusion (known as hepatic encephalopathy)
Sleepiness
Coma

You have my greatest sympathy. check out this link: http://uimc.discoveryhospital.com/main.p...

The yellow color is caused by bilirubin which is from destoryed red blood cell's hemoglobin. one main function of the liver is to produce many clotting factors and regulatory proteins in the blood. they are used to prevent clots or prevent bleeding. Due to deficits of one or the other. strokes can occur if it is too little regulatory proteins. if it is the clotting factors that is too little then hemorrhage can occur. hemorrhage is when bleeding occurs unstopped. can be seen in bruises under the skin or can't be seen internally. another major function of the liver is to transport fats out of the blood. Fat can built up and this is bad for the heart as you know. The liver does much more but i listed the 2 i consider the most vital. I do not know how long the mother will last because there are too many factors to consider. I have no idea how she will pass if she does. if it is due to internal bleeding then i can say it may be peaceful. If it is a stroke, then i can not say. From what you are telling me that she is "in and out of it" I think and hope she will go peacefully.