Laid up in bed

FormerMember over 4 years ago

11 replies
44 subscribers
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Hi folks just been catching up with some posts as I lie in bed a bit out of it.

Last time I posted I was awaiting a scan which I had on Thursday. I had been feeling quite ill and had not keep anything down for 6 days when the district Nurse and Pallative Care Nurse arrived yesterday. I was pronounced not well and many calls took place as I was not wanting to return to the local A&E department.

A lovely consultant from the hospice rang and talked to us surprisingly she had the scan results from the previous day. After checking if we preferred to know what was happening she talked to me and my husband on speaker phone. Not surprisingly it was not good news and although she could not say when I have probably not got long left. The immediate issues were getting IV fluids and anti sickness meds and they can not be done at home. She tried to get a hospice bed but they were full. Later she rang back to say that our next nearest hospital was happy to see me straight away they had a separate room I could be seen in and they were happy to take what she said was needed whilst running some other tests. All being well I could get home that evening. After my experiences over the years I was still quite reluctant but it all went as she said with the A&E doctor working closely with her it was great to see. Not surprisingly after 6 days of no food my blood sugar had plummeted so I got 2 bags ordinary fluid, 2 bags glucose, 1 bag salts and 2 anti sickness via IV and got home at 7 pm. It's been a rough night as it is difficult to get in a comfortable position but it is home.

Not sure what is next hopefully improvement and some pain control but if not I have not had a bad run and I have tried to make the most of my time. I still have things I want to see my family achieve but that will always be the case. My husband has been marvelous and backed me all the way. The next conversations we have I will need to listen carefully to what is best for him.

Take care everyone

Gragon over 4 years ago

Hi ,

I'm sorry about your news but I am really pleased that this experience of hospital was so much better than your recent ones. Hopefully feeling slightly out of it is much better than you were feeling before.

I must admit that if I went for six days without eating anyone that knows me would be be seriously worried. I am one of those people who despite having cancer and treatment have lost very little weight and still have a healthy (large) appetite.

I am hopefully a long way from having to worry about what my wife will do when I die but I am aware of trying to make sure that she is aware of the task and roles that I generally take on. I know when my dad died my mum coped ok emotionally but struggled with managing the finances as my dad was quite astute and had their savings where it would bring the best return and my mum struggled to understand how it worked. It might not have brought so much interest but we brought it a bit more together and simplified it for her.

My mum was quite good at getting tradespeople in if she needed something doing. Had it been the other way around my dad would have coped with the cooking and cleaning ok but in matters of taste and aesthetics he would have struggled a bit more. He was pragmatic and could easily live with mismatched curtains so long as it maintained his privacy. He was also not the most patient of people and once glued up the hems on his trouser legs rather than having them sewn and as they were pale you could clearly see the wobbly line at the end of the trouser legs where the glue came through the fabric. Strange really as he was quite vain about his looks.

Despite the fact that they knew for 18 months that my dad's cancer was terminal they never really discussed what would happen afterwards.

Wishing all the best to you and your husband.

Gragon xx