It was another very busy day. This evening Jon asked what we had planned for tomorrow. I said "Nothing!" He said, "We need to do something - maybe we can get Dad out for a ride - on a golf cart? a pedicab?" He is a bundle of energy. I don't think Dad could stand the bumps on a golf cart right now. Not that we have a golf cart, but we'll be thinking of something!
This morning Jon was up at 6 AM as Dad had an 8:30 AM consultation with the radiologist. Dave went over to help later, and I took the car over about 7:30. It was not to be. Dad just was not feeling well enough to get out of bed. He had a tiny bit of breakfast then back to bed it was, sleeping on and off. The Hospice Social Worker arrived about 10, and had a list of things to cover, including what services Hospice can provide in a hurricane evacuation, visits from clergy, a ceremony to honor veterans, and assistance with funeral arrangements. It was not an easy visit, but necessary.
Just as she was leaving, the Hospice visiting nurse arrived. She spent quite a bit of time here, first discussing Dad's meds and care and answering questions from Dave and me (Jon was with Dad in his bedroom). Then she went in to see Dad and talked to him for quite a while, asking about his pain and nausea. She checked out all the equipment and thought it was good for now. She said Dad will more than likely need oxygen in the future, but he is having no breathing issues now.
She will be ordering all his meds from now on, and they will be FedEx'ed to us, so no more trips to the pharmacy. Hooray. Hospice has been extremely helpful.
Dad is currently on Oxycodone but when this prescription is finished in a little over a week, he will be switched to morphine.
We went to the eye doctor for the injection to dry up Dad's eye. Hopefully the retina has not become detached, though it's hard to tell at this point. Dad can barely see anything out of his right eye. I was thinking he had the same problem in both eyes, but no, the right eye is potentially fixable, but the left eye is not. He handled it like a champ, as did Jon who has had a similar procedure. I had to leave the room.
In the meantime, Dave was shopping for and ordering more equipment. He ordered a landline as Dad's cell doesn't work well in all areas of the house. He also picked up a booster for our wifi so computers and iPads will work better at Dad's. Now whoever is staying with Dad can be fully connected. It's about time to come out of the black hole as Jon says.
Dad's attitude seems to be remarkably calm, and accepting of what is to come. He has said several times 86 is a long life and he told the nurse he does not want any extraordinary measures taken to preserve life. Of course this news about his cancer is a total shock to all of us. The speed of him having problem upon problem seems to be fairly unusual according to the doctor and nurses. There is a good chance he will plateau and stay at a certain level of health, but no one knows what will happen. I have to say he is overwhelmed at this point, with a new bed, strangers coming to talk to him, a multitude of doctors and appointments, long times in waiting rooms, and new medications. As it would be for anyone!!
We doubled Dad's pain meds today, and they really helped, but the downside is that he is sleepy and not as clear headed. I asked the nurse about it, and she said your body adjusts after a few days, and the drowsiness should lessen, but you don't want the pain to come back. It's going to be trial and error, trying to find the amount of drugs that allows the least amount of pain and the most awareness. We'll keep working on finding the balance.
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