Well last night was a long night and today was even longer. Mom was having a rough time last night. She couldn’t really tell us what was wrong, she thought maybe she was nauseous, but wasn’t sure what she was feeling. So dad gave her the anti-nausea medication and also gave her a diazepam pill (sedative). She finally went to sleep about 4 am. Dad had been up with her until she went to sleep and then I took over watching her.
There was a couple of things worrying us. One is that she has been constipated and had not had a bowel movement in over a week. She cannot remember when the last one was so we are guessing. About 8:30 this morning, I called her oncologist and asked what to do. I told them what we had tried the past couple days (since her chemo treatment) and the nurse practitioner there said to go get magnesium citrate from the drug store and if she did not have a bowel movement in 6 hours then go to the ER. I went down and got it and made her drink that nasty stuff. That was around 9:30 am.
So we wait… My sister Jodi came down for a visit and got here about 12:30 am last night. I think part of the reason that mom had a tough night was because she was nervous about Jodi seeing her in this condition. Jodi had a long day of her own yesterday so by the time she got here she was asleep in no time and didn’t see much of the events going on with mom in the wee hours. When Jodi got up in the morning, mom had also woken up and needed to pee. Jodi watched as mom fumbled with her shoes, which don’t fit because her poor little footsies are so swollen, and then watched her try to walk to the bathroom. Well Jodi has not seen our sedated mother try to walk somewhere, so that coupled with how she looks and acts and talks was just a bit overwhelming for Jodi. So while mom was in the bathroom, I comforted Jodi. She was struggling to keep a brave face, but was clearly upset. Then her and dad had a good cry while I waited by the bathroom thinking to myself that mom was taking too long in there. I asked for either my sister or father to check on her. Mom wanted dad to help her. Poor mom didn’t have the strength to get up off the pot.
That was the other symptom that was worrying us. She was just so sluggish. I knew that part of that was due to the sedative, but I was worried there might be something else wrong. I was hoping that ‘other thing’ would be low blood count, which would result in a transfusion and that make her feel better. While we waiting the 6 hours to see if the mag citrate would work, I thought of a way to help Jodi understand the situation a little better and help relieve her fears. Jodi does not follow this blog, she just isn’t technically savvy enough to get to it. So I showed her the picture I took of mom and dad. That picture, I explained to her, was taken 1 week ago. Looking at that picture you would not be able to tell that these people were ill. I explained that the sedative she took along with the narcotic (Oxycontin) and added in the chemo treatment for good measure is the reason she seems so out of it right now.
I told her that I thought it was very likely we would be taking her to the ER and that it was a good thing because all of the things that are wrong with her that they can fix will be fixed. That she will come home looking and acting more like mom. Jodi seemed to understand what I was saying and that calmed her down. Until she saw mom again. Then Niagara Falls opened back up, bless her heart.
So, where are we at right now with mom? As of a few minutes ago she was still in the ER waiting for a regular hospital room. The plan was to do a couple of things;
For the constipation
They are going to give her a stronger liquid based laxative and also give her an enema and wait for as long as it takes for her to go. They did an abdominal CT scan and found no blockages or defects to explain the constipation so it’s just that her plumbing is backed up.
For the lethargy/weakness
Her blood work was normal and no blood transfusion is needed. The lethargy/weakness is probably the result of the chemo and the constipation. There isn’t anything specific they are going to do for that.
For her edema (swollen feet)
They have to do more tests to determine the course of action for that. There may be little they can do as the edema is likely being caused by the cancer in her liver. Her heart was fine.
She also had a urinary tract infection and are giving her some antibiotic for that.
They expect, if all goes well, that she will come home tomorrow. That would be nice.
Before I brought Jodi and her friend Denise home from the hospital, dad and I went out and got some dinner for him and also brought Subway sandwiches back to the hospital for Jodi and Denise. Mom had a bit of the sub sandwich, which made her very happy as she really likes those. For a few minutes there we saw a mom back to her old self. After several bites of the sandwich she started getting tired again and we let her rest. We left dad there to wait with her while I brought Jodi and Denise home. Once she gets into a regular room I will head back down there to visit for a little bit and then come home again. Dad will most likely stay the night there with her. He has just been beside himself during this. You can tell just how much he adores her, even though he isn’t feeling the best and the ER room is right about freezing temperature, he will not leave her side. For a little bit there he wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay and that upset him because he really wanted to stay right there with her.
Now, as for dad, he was not looking so great today. I think the lack of sleep took a toll on him. He was getting the chills again (which he hasn’t had since his blood transfusion last week) and was sounding a bit out of breath. So we are paying close attention to his condition as well. I told him that if he is not improved in 2 days we are going to the doctor. We don’t need anymore hospital trips for him, we are all booked up dealing with mom. He agreed and said that he was not feeling the best today. I know he wont get good sleep tonight either so I am really hoping mom will be home and feeling better tomorrow so that dad can relax and get rest himself.
Well I think that sums up the day. We shall see what fun stuff tomorrow brings!