After two months in hospital my husband is finally coming home on Tuesday 1st July. He has advanced prostate cancer which has spread to his bones , spinal cord and lymph nodes. Radiotherapy and hormone therapy are helping slow the progression of the cancer.
I am so glad that he is coming home but feeling a bit worried at the same time. He has a two week assessment process provided by the hospital and then after assessment of our financial situation whatever help and support they decide we have to pay for, towards or in full. My husband cannot walk or stand and has no control of his bladder or bowls. While he has been waiting to come home he has lost his appetite and is having a painful tummy. Hospital staff don’t seem to concerned. I am very worried about him being away from immediate medical care. Feeling so mixed up and wishing I could cry but I can’t seem to just let go of my need to keep things together for him.
Hi Teatowel
It does feel like such a big step coming home after so long in hospital though I am sure you will feel some relief too from the trips to the hospital. When my wife Janice came home after just a month following a sepsis incident I know it seemed such a big step especially as she was too weak to climb the stairs and so had a bed in the front room.
When Janice came home we had the district nurse coming every two days to change her dressing and the council came and fitted a new stair rail and grab rails in the bathroom. We are quite lucky too that our local out of hours medical centre is only about 10 minutes drive away.
I hope you find the support you need too, I know it took me a while to accept that I needed support and it was only when I went in to our local cancer centre and brian dumped that my tears really began to flow. With support though I found I can be my best to Janice - still all that is now really history for us as Janice's cancer has been stable now for over 10 years.
<<hugs>>
Steve
