Starting Out

I had to come up with a name and address for this blog -- here's my logic:  People often use the phrase 24/7 to mean 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  I may be thinking of things to write about Dad 24/7.  BUT, his birthday is 7/24, so, here we are. www.jimgreen724.blogspot.com

Wednesday 9/22/10

I guess everyone is up to speed about Dad's recurrence of lung cancer.  I was going to wait until after his CT scan and oncologist visit so I could tell you something definitive, but things happen so quickly, and I end up telling people different things, depending upon when I talk/write, so I'm resorting to a one-message system so everyone will get the same info.  

A quick history:

In August, Dad was doing extremely well.  He was walking or riding his bike over a mile a day, and stopping at the Club for a beer as his reward.  At the beginning of September, Dad had lots of pain in his hip, which came on suddenly.  He thought it may have been a result of riding his bike.  His doctor gave him a cortisone shot and an ointment to rub on his hip.  It did not seem to improve so a week later we went back to the doctor and Dad got prescriptions for steroids, anti-inflammatories, and pain pills.  Last week Dad complained that he felt like he had broken ribs, with bones rubbing together, so on Friday 9/17 he had a chest Xray.  I got the radiologist report Monday, which said:

-No rib fracture seen.

-Numerous nodules in the lungs bilaterally likely metastatic disease.

Dad also complained of a loss of vision.  At first he said he needed more light, then suddenly he felt he was going blind.  The opthamologist was able to see us today.

The opthamologist said it looked like Dad had a detached retina and we needed to see a specialist asap.  She sent us right over to a retina specialist who not only looked into his eyes several times, but also did an ultra sound and a scan after injecting dye into his veins.  He has eye bleeding in both eyes, but especially his right eye (his good eye).  It is putting pressure on the retina and causing his "blindness."  The doc wants to inject a medicine to dry up his eye, but also needs to have Dad's blood thinner medicine reduced, to help stop the bleeding.  He said we can wait until next week, so we have an appt. Tuesday.

We'll get the CT - whole body and bone scan - tomorrow, then see the oncologist Friday and hopefully have an idea of what we're dealing with, how serious it is, etc.  Also, to see if his blood thinner can be adjusted to help stop the eye bleeding.

Dad has an appt. with an orthopedist Monday, about his hip, and the retina specialist Tuesday.

He is not feeling well tonight and says he feels like he has a fever.  He didn't get a nap, and I think he's a little dehydrated.  Molly brought a chicken stew and biscuit dinner for him, which he devoured, and had ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert.

We talked about his cancer today in a round about way.  He told me about a friend at Savannah Square that decided he was through living and quit taking his meds and started drinking.  We laughed.  I know he must be thinking about how hard the chemo was last time.  He has said twice now, "I'm not going to take this any more."  I'm not quite sure what he was talking about.  I told him people have choices about their treatment, and that I will make sure any pain he has is dealt with.  At this point, his pain seems to be related to his arthritis and muscles, and it helps to keep moving.  That was about the extent of that discussion.

Well, he wanted me to come back at 8:45 to do his bedtime routine, so it's time for me to go.  I'll write again when I know anything.

Thursday 9/23/10

It was another long day at the hospital, but Dad was up bright and early so we had enough time to stop at McDonald's.  Dad had his usual hotcakes and sausage.  I had my usual Carbmaster yogurt (what a name) and walnuts, brought from home.  

Dad had a CT scan of his lungs and abdomen, after getting injected with dye, in the morning.  He had a full body bone scan in the afternoon.  He was exhausted and when he got home, took a pain pill and leaned back in the Big Blue Chair for a nap.  I told him I'd be back at 6 pm, so I need to go.

Dad, Dave and I are all looking forward to Jon's visit this weekend!  He arrives at 8 pm tonight.