It all started in September 2010. Dad (who was 81 at the time) started to lose weight and suffer from abdominal pain. His GP said it was indigestion and gave him all the normal stuff ..Gaviscon etc ..none of it worked . Dad also suffers from COPD and is hospitalized periodically with chest infections and it was after one of these episodes that his GP told him thet he couldn`t do any more for him . Needless to say dad soon said goodbye to that GP and signed on with another!
He only saw his new GP once before his symptoms suddenly escalated and we had to call 999 ..dad started to vomit and the smell was sooo bad ...the paramedics said they thought it was foecal matter and it was all pointing to a blockage, however the doctor who examined him on A and E said he didn`t think this was so. Once in hospital dads symptoms seemed to subside and no tests were done ..they kept him for a few days then sent him home.
A month later exactly the same symptoms presented themselves and dad was hospitalized once more. We were told this time that they would get to the bottom of it and they did . At the end of November tests showed that he had a tumour on his colon and it was also mentioned that they had seen a spot on his liver,and it was three weeks later ...the week before Christmas..that he had his op ..a right heli colectomy .No mention was made of his liver but they said they had removed a tumour the size of an ostrich egg from his colon !
Dad was extremely ill after his op and was on the High Dependancy Unit for a few days following ..he had lost a massive 5 stone in weight , had no appetite and was extremely weak . Christmas day seemed to bring a turning point, we were really surprised to find him sat out of bed eating a few mouthfulls of his dinner and actually seeming to enjoy it ! It was lasagne and this was to be his favourite meal for quite a while after.
When it came time for his discharge he remained adamant that he wanted to go home to his own flat so with a full care package in place dad was duly sent home .
After a week or so it became apparant that something was still dreadfully wrong . Dad had no energy , no appetite , and was getting more depressed by the day . He was finding it hard to cope with his carers coming and going three times a day and confusion was setting in ...so much so that at one point we thought he had taken an overdose. We sent for the ambulance and dad was admitted once more . The doctors put dad in the care of a pscychiatrist who agreed that he was very depressed and he was started on anti depressants .
Whilst dad had been at home he had received an appointment to go for a scan on his liver and this was done whilst he was in. A few days later we had a phone call to say the scan results were back and it wasn`t looking good ..there were multiple lesions on his liver and the doctor told us there was nothing more they could do for him.
Dad decided that he would like to come and live with us so at the end of February we had a meeting with the Macmillan Nurse who told us that he didn`t have long and all we can do is make him comfortable and keep him pain free. Dad was put on steroids (dexamethasone ) to help with his appetite, MST and Oramorph for the pain, Buscopan for abdominal cramps and a whole lot of other stuff to do with his other complaints.
The few days before dads discharge we were inundated with callers bringing different aids ..some for the bathroom ..some for the bedroom and in between we were redecorating dads room so it would be nice and fresh when he came home .
Dad came home on the 20th February and his doctor came to visit the day after. He explained about the Dexamethasone helping to soften the outer capsule of the liver so there wouldn`t be as much pain when the liver started to enlarge. He also said that he expected dads condition to improve for a while because of the steroids making him hungry . He said he thought dad had weeks if not months.
Well he was certainly right about the eating .. dad was eating like a horse and soon gained most of the weight he had lost . He was having trouble controlling his bowels and we were told it was probably because of the op. Incontinence pads have been a god send ..he`s a very proud man and they have helped to ease the worry of unexpected accidents.
We have had lots of support from the Macmillan nurse and District Nurses and dad has a carer who comes to to help with his shower. He is still managing to wash himself each day and he really values this independance .
Its been nearly four months now since dad came home and we are beginning to notice some changes . He gets extremely tired ( some days he can nearly sleep the clock round) . He also has periods of confusion ..the other night he went to his room after tea , about six thirty , and he must have gone to sleep - the next thing at nine oclock, he is coming downstairs on his stair lift with his napkins in his hands ready for his breakfast. He thought he had slept all night and it was breakfast time !! The other day he said he wanted to go out because he owed someone some money and he wanted to pay them . He couldnt tell us who it was or where they lived and after an hour or so he just seemed to forget it . Dad has never owed anyone anything as far as I know and he hasn`t mentioned it since . Ah well I suppose its all part of this awful roller coaster ride I have been reading so much about on this marvellous web site.
We had to have the doctor a few weeks ago because of a chest infection and whilst he was here he gave dad a good check over . He said he had a small ammount of fluid around his tummy and his legs but nothing to worry about as yet , just to keep an eye on it and if it gets uncomfortable or painful to let him know. He also said that his spleen was quite enlarged but that is what they would expect, and so it is , as you might say , normal for his condition.
I will try to keep posting in the hope that it might help someone else who is going through the same
