A hospice nurse visits a client who is no longer eating or drinking and has mottling of the lower extremities. Which statement should the nurse make to the family?

END-OF-LIFE SIGNS AND FAMILY EDUCATION: MOTTLING: Purple/bluish-red blotchy discoloration of the skin, beginning at the feet and moving upward; indicates reduced peripheral circulation as the body redirects blood to vital organs; normal sign of approaching death; typically appears hours to days before death; NOT PAINFUL; REDUCED ORAL INTAKE: The body's natural response; forcing food or fluids at end of life causes discomfort (nausea, edema, respiratory secretions); IV fluids are not recommended in actively dying patients as they can increase secretions and distress; FAMILY EDUCATION IS CRITICAL: Families often equate not providing food/fluid with abandonment or hastening death; educating that this is the body's natural process (not starvation) prevents unnecessary anguish; HOSPICE PHILOSOPHY: Comfort and dignity; not prolonging dying; addressing spiritual and emotional needs of patient and family; OTHER END-OF-LIFE SIGNS: Cheyne-Stokes breathing (irregular rhythm with periods of apnea); Kussmaul breathing (deep, rapid); jaw relaxation; fixed, glassy eyes; cooling of extremities; 'death rattle' (noisy secretion in throat).