Tips for reducing anxiety in a loved one on a ventilator?

Correction...his CO2 was over 100%, not O2.

I agree very heartbreaking. Thank you, keepmoving2, for pointing out that you also need to take care of yourself. This is a time when you are under a lot of stress, if I were to guess I would say that you are probably not getting enough sleep, and you are spending a lot of time with your mother. Please take some time each day, even if it is 15 minutes to do something for yourself. It is also important to watch what you eat. I am not saying to count calories or anything like that. Most of the time the food that is most readily available is the food that is not very healthy. Something as simple as making sure you get your daily serving of fruits and/or veggies will help.
When my daughter was sick the hardest thing that I had to deal with that was, not related to her illness, letting people help me. I had the hardest time letting people do things for me. I think it was a guy-pride thing. But I learned that people want to help you because they care and they get fulfillment by doing so.
Stay strong and I hope for a speedy recovery for your mom.

Reading through all the comments and will write based on my own mother's experience. She was on a ventilator for 28 years. Yes, 28 years! In the beginning it was at night time only, then the last 12 years she needed it 24/7. At this point we did place her in a care facility.(she was at home with my dad as a care giver prior) In the beginning, medication at the hospital helped with the anxiety. She went home from the hospital on a portable ventilator and overtime learned to relax and sleep with it. Anti-anxiety medicine is a must in the beginning. My mom had a wheelchair that held the ventilator and we were able to take her places or just go outside for a walk when she was in the care facility. I would highly recommend you speak with hospice. They can offer so much help for all the issues your mom is facing and they are a great help to the family. Hospice does not mean that your mother is going to die within 6 months.....some people think that. If your mother is not appropriate for hospice, they will tell you. We got hospice involved when mom first went into the care facility. They were involved with her care and comfort for about 6 months and then discharged her from hospice as she was doing so well. The last few months of my mom's life hospice came everyday....to massage, hold her hands, cut her hair, pamper her and keep her comfortable. They made recommendations about medications for comfort to her physician. They were tremendous support to my dad and to me as well as my mom.

@krystalk, how are you and your mother doing?

Thank you for sharing your experience. I would also like to thank you for suggesting Hospice and dispelling the notion that having Hospice come means that your loved one will pass away soon.