Vic is almost totally bedridden. He is very weak but his mind is still very strong. His nights have been same for the past few days with waking every 2 hours for his medications. He has been put on an automatic pain killer pump, which he can control when he needs more pain relief. I am in charge of giving him his nausea, blood pressure, heart rate, diabetes and blood clot thinner medications. And basically keeping him comfortable. He was also put on a stomach pump to continually drain his stomach. His nurse came today to adjust it and so far he seems a little better with his nausea. We'll have to wait until tonight for the real test. Night time seems to be the worst for him.
Barbara
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
VICTOR IS HOME WITH HOSPICE CARE
My mom's laptop is not being very cooperative, so she has asked me to update the blog for her.
Vic was in the hospital until Tuesday afternoon. The docs were debating on whether they should send him to a hospice facility or to send him home. Victor really wanted to go home, so that's where the docs sent him.
The Hospice group is called Compassionate Care. Vic has a nurse who will visit with him 3 times a week and a home health aide who will visit Monday through Friday for a few hours a day. We are impressed with how compassionate the hospice workers really are. They have been very supportive and helpful.
The first night Vic was home turned out to be horrible. He was given a starter kit filled with meds for his first night home, but one of the meds made him sick to his stomach. The nurse was able to straighten out his meds, and his nights have been better for him.
My mom fell at work last week and broke her foot. She was given a removable boot/cast to wear so she can get around. She has been limping around while trying to care for Vic. This has been very hard on her, but she is a trooper! Kristen, Dave, and I have been trying to take "shifts" to stay at the house so that my mom can rest or tend to Vic uninterrupted. Vic needs to take pain meds every two hours, so we can take over the med duties while my mom gets a little bit of sleep.
Although Vic is on many different pain killers, he is still very alert and coherent. He is still his feisty, funny, sometimes thick-headed self. Just last night he played a joke on Dave. Dave stayed for some hours in the evening so that my mom could get some sleep. When he went to give Victor his medicine, Vic told him that there were gloves on the table behind him. Dave wondered what he would need the gloves for, and Vic explained that he would need the gloves for the rectal exam he would have to do. Poor Dave was taking his duties very seriously so he had no idea that Vic was playing around. Dave told Vic that mom did not explain that a rectal would be necessary. Vic then told him he was busting his chops! When Vic told me the story this morning, we were both laughing hysterically! It's good to see Vic laughing.
If you would like to visit with Vic, please call my mom and she will arrange a time.
Tracey
Vic was in the hospital until Tuesday afternoon. The docs were debating on whether they should send him to a hospice facility or to send him home. Victor really wanted to go home, so that's where the docs sent him.
The Hospice group is called Compassionate Care. Vic has a nurse who will visit with him 3 times a week and a home health aide who will visit Monday through Friday for a few hours a day. We are impressed with how compassionate the hospice workers really are. They have been very supportive and helpful.
The first night Vic was home turned out to be horrible. He was given a starter kit filled with meds for his first night home, but one of the meds made him sick to his stomach. The nurse was able to straighten out his meds, and his nights have been better for him.
My mom fell at work last week and broke her foot. She was given a removable boot/cast to wear so she can get around. She has been limping around while trying to care for Vic. This has been very hard on her, but she is a trooper! Kristen, Dave, and I have been trying to take "shifts" to stay at the house so that my mom can rest or tend to Vic uninterrupted. Vic needs to take pain meds every two hours, so we can take over the med duties while my mom gets a little bit of sleep.
Although Vic is on many different pain killers, he is still very alert and coherent. He is still his feisty, funny, sometimes thick-headed self. Just last night he played a joke on Dave. Dave stayed for some hours in the evening so that my mom could get some sleep. When he went to give Victor his medicine, Vic told him that there were gloves on the table behind him. Dave wondered what he would need the gloves for, and Vic explained that he would need the gloves for the rectal exam he would have to do. Poor Dave was taking his duties very seriously so he had no idea that Vic was playing around. Dave told Vic that mom did not explain that a rectal would be necessary. Vic then told him he was busting his chops! When Vic told me the story this morning, we were both laughing hysterically! It's good to see Vic laughing.
If you would like to visit with Vic, please call my mom and she will arrange a time.
Tracey
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Update - July 14th
Vic is still in Morristown Memorial Hospital. He seems to take one step forward and two steps back. We thought he might be released by this Thursday and the doctor was hoping to give him his first dose of chemo, but as of yesterday, he is still in a lot of pain and hasn't been able to get out of bed. The doctors have given him stronger doses of pain killers, which is making him very groggy, sleepy and "out of it" most of the time. It's getting harder and harder to keep my emotions in check while I'm with him. He wants to come home in the worst way and he wants to continue with our life like it was before. If he doesn't improve by Thursday, I have a meeting with the doctor on Friday at 8:00 am to discuss our next course of action. Please keep praying.
Barbara
Barbara
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Update - July 7th
Vic is still in the hospital with very little improvement. He is still vomiting, even though he has the stomach tube in and large amounts of fluid are being drained from his stomach hoping to relieve the blockage in his small intestine. His heart rate is still quite high. The doctors want to run more tests, an x-ray of his stomach and a doppler on his leg to check on the blood clots. They are talking about taking out the nose to stomach tube and putting in a permanent tube through his stomach wall. But right now it's a "wait and see" until the blockage is cleared up. The doctors believe that the cancer is now surrounding his intestines and this is causing the blockage. At this time, Victor is very weak and is sleeping most of the time. We don't know at this time when he will be released from the hospital. Please continue to pray for Victor - he needs all the help he can get.
Thank you.
Barbara
Thank you.
Barbara
Monday, July 6, 2009
Released and Back Again!
Vic was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, July 1st. Late Friday afternoon, July 3rd, I had to bring him to the emergency room at Morristown Memorial. He was having severe abdominal pains and he started vomiting again. This time, though, he was brought into the treatment area almost immediately but was put on a stretcher in the hall of the treatment area because all the rooms were filled. He was there about an hour and was getting sicker by the minute until a very caring nurse took charge even though he wasn't in her area. She had him moved to a critical care room and then things started happening quickly. He was immediately scheduled for another Cat Scan and a multitude of blood tests. He now has pancreatitis and a blockage in his small intestine. He has also had a very high heart rate, so he has a heart monitor on his chest that gives his readings to the heart center in the hospital. Every six hours, a doctor from the heart center has to give him an injection to slow the heart rate down. He is still vomiting (which increases his heart rate) even though he now has a stomach tube inserted through his nose. They are trying to keep him as comfortable as possible with anti-nausea medicine and pain killers but this is a very big set-back for Vic. He missed our grandson Owen's birthday on July 4th and this has really upset him since we were also celebrating on the same day, our oldest grandson's, Justin, graduation from 8th grade. Now it looks like we're also not going to be able to go on vacation. To everyone wishing their best wishes and prayers for Vic - Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
