Yesterday dad was feeling pretty good and moving around a bit better, but last night he was sick and had a miserable night. Today he has fluid in the abdominal cavity again, not sure is they will do the paracentesis again.
Clearly he will not be going home today, maybe by Wednesday. Sure would like him to feel better, come home and rest comfortably. There's nothing comfortable in a hospital.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
bad day today but he is okay and resting comfortably
Doc Hassan dad's oncologist came in today. Basically it is a very very sad day, she does not feel he should continue chemo, since it is making him so sick, unstable, electrolytes off and constantly sending him up and down. There's nothing worse than seeing someone you love suffering with all this treatment and its effects, but on the other hand, stopping treatment means giving up. Not ready to do that either, but this is dad's choice.
Today he was low on platelets so they started a platelet transfusion. I had just researched online and read that 1-2% might have a reaction. Well, less than 2 minutes into the transfusion, and we were talking with dad at the time, suddenly something was terribly wrong. His eyes were wide, he was unresponsive, and in what seemed like forever (really, forever...) but was probably closer to 10 seconds, the room was full of folks, mom crying and hearing a nurse say she can't get pressure, then hearing dad say he can't get air in, can't breathe...let's just say that was 5 minutes we never wanna relive. They mentioned moving him to ICU but then he stabilized and much better. He says he'd rather not get any more platelets. It was an awful experience for him I know. Lucky dad, he's part of the 1%, and here we'd all been thinking we're part of the 99%.
Anyway, glad he's resting comfortably now, we'll be back in the morning to see how he's doing.
He will be in the hospital at least until Monday and we met with a hospice person today who will make arrangements for everything we need at home. Their focus is to keep him pain free and as symptom free and comfortable as possible. This is a very hard thing to come to, but pain free does sound good.
Today he was low on platelets so they started a platelet transfusion. I had just researched online and read that 1-2% might have a reaction. Well, less than 2 minutes into the transfusion, and we were talking with dad at the time, suddenly something was terribly wrong. His eyes were wide, he was unresponsive, and in what seemed like forever (really, forever...) but was probably closer to 10 seconds, the room was full of folks, mom crying and hearing a nurse say she can't get pressure, then hearing dad say he can't get air in, can't breathe...let's just say that was 5 minutes we never wanna relive. They mentioned moving him to ICU but then he stabilized and much better. He says he'd rather not get any more platelets. It was an awful experience for him I know. Lucky dad, he's part of the 1%, and here we'd all been thinking we're part of the 99%.
Anyway, glad he's resting comfortably now, we'll be back in the morning to see how he's doing.
He will be in the hospital at least until Monday and we met with a hospice person today who will make arrangements for everything we need at home. Their focus is to keep him pain free and as symptom free and comfortable as possible. This is a very hard thing to come to, but pain free does sound good.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
will talk with doc tomorrow
Because the procedure was not done until late in the afternoon, we won't see the doc until tomorrow morning. Dad was feeling much better and awaiting a well deserved dinner when we left tonight.
procedure to drain fluids was completed
They are testing the fluid and doc should be in to talk with us today. At the rate these folks move around here, it could be hours before we here anything. Their communications have been very slow, we're very frustrated with waiting and not having any information. Good news is, dad is feeling much better!
having fluid drained
Yesterday dad's fluid buildup in his abdominal area got pretty bad. They scheduled a procedure to drain the fluid so we are awaiting that process right now. They just took him over to the ultrasound department.
Monday, October 10, 2011
still in the hospital
Dad's potassium was back to normal but still low om calcium. Not sure if he will need a stint for the kidney because they think the blockage is cleared and was caused by swelling. So he is awaiting a CT scan.
Hope he doesn't need the procedure, but would rather he not go thru another blockage like that, painful and dangerous because it caused irregular heartbeat because os high potassium. We'll see what they recommend today.
We've been spending a few hours at the hospital each day to visit with dad; sure hope he can come home and be comfortable soon.
Hope he doesn't need the procedure, but would rather he not go thru another blockage like that, painful and dangerous because it caused irregular heartbeat because os high potassium. We'll see what they recommend today.
We've been spending a few hours at the hospital each day to visit with dad; sure hope he can come home and be comfortable soon.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
this week was busy...dad's in the hospital and Tyler is here to visit
Blood work on Monday, they also gave dad a flu shot. Then started the new chemo on Wednesday. Gemzar and Carboplatin, plus a followup neulasta shot on Thursday which sends his white cell count up to ward off infection.
He was feeling better on Thursday into Friday, but yesterday afternoon he was having pain in his lower back, by 4 pm he knew the pain meds weren't working, so into the ER we went. By the time he was seen, his pain meds were helping, and they gave him more so he was feeling much better and really wanted to sleep. They did an ultrasound on his left arm which was swelling, no blood clot there, and a CT scan to investigate the pain, found a blockage from his left kidney. They kept him overnight, and will be putting in a stint for the blockage.
This morning, we don't have a time yet for the procedure to put in the stint but they did find that his potassium is HIGH now (was fine on Monday and Wednesday blood tests) and causing irregular heartbeat. So they are giving him something to lower his potassium now. We'll be heading back to the hospital as soon as mom is ready, we didn't get home until 2am from yesterday's trip.
Tyler is here now, Gary picked him up at the airport while we were at the hospital. Dad was happy to see him at the hospital last night.
He was feeling better on Thursday into Friday, but yesterday afternoon he was having pain in his lower back, by 4 pm he knew the pain meds weren't working, so into the ER we went. By the time he was seen, his pain meds were helping, and they gave him more so he was feeling much better and really wanted to sleep. They did an ultrasound on his left arm which was swelling, no blood clot there, and a CT scan to investigate the pain, found a blockage from his left kidney. They kept him overnight, and will be putting in a stint for the blockage.
This morning, we don't have a time yet for the procedure to put in the stint but they did find that his potassium is HIGH now (was fine on Monday and Wednesday blood tests) and causing irregular heartbeat. So they are giving him something to lower his potassium now. We'll be heading back to the hospital as soon as mom is ready, we didn't get home until 2am from yesterday's trip.
Tyler is here now, Gary picked him up at the airport while we were at the hospital. Dad was happy to see him at the hospital last night.
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