So, the last few days have been pretty busy. On Thursday, there was a meeting with the doctor to go over the results for my dad's latest scans. For the most part things have plateaued and the cancer hasn't spread to any new areas, so that's good. However, the doctor also said that it's time to stop the chemo. I expected this and frankly, I was hoping for it too. Even though it sounds awful it really was time to stop. He's down to 103 pounds, he's sleeping all the time, he shakes, he's fallen twice so far... It's time to stop.
The falling is the worst. What makes it even harder was discovering how easy it is to pick my dad up. Because he weighs almost nothing. Now that's a huge dose of reality I wasn't ready for.
The doctor was pretty clear that continuing on with the chemo would be counterproductive. At this point, it would only make my dad more ill and weaker and would probably cause more harm than good. It's hard, but I still think it's time.
Plus, we finally get to start using hospice. I cannot even begin to describe the huge level of relief I have now that hospice is there. They are amazing. And fast! The doctor referred my dad on Thursday afternoon and they had an intake nurse at my parents' house by 6pm that night! She met with us for two hours and got everything started immediately. My dad already has a primary nurse, a social worker, an LPN to come in five days a week to do personal care and a homemaker to come in once a week to help out with the cleaning. Plus, they got him an air mattress (think Sleep Number) to help reduce the chance of bedsores, a cane and various other sundries. Hospice manages all the prescriptions and there are no more copays. They just tell us when to pick them up from the drug store and we get them all for free. Wow...
Seriously, it's like the cavalry rode in. I am amazed...
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