Good news: pain and nausea have subsided. No pain meds since yesterday. Today she started on clear broth and some fruit juice. I had discussions with both the hospitalist and GI doctor. Pretty much a “your guess is as good as mine” answer to my question (including multiple choice options that I had to research […]
Mom is back in the hospital. She called me last night from the emergency department, in extreme pain. Again. ER doc said it was likely a bowel obstruction again. Her oncologist doesn’t think so. She had an X-ray last night and another one this morning. How much can really change in 8 hours that they
We requested a GI consult yesterday. In plain English it means we requested that a gastroenterologist (gut doctor) come consult with my mother. I figured we could add another expert into the mix and see if we come up with yet another diagnosis. He and I spoke by phone last night at 9:30 after he
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Mom had a reasonable night. This morning she had a sneezing fit and sneezed her nasogastric tube straight out. So the nurse is holding off on replacing it to see how she does without it. It was like a cloud lifting, and her demeanor and energy has increased noticeably. She is taking a proper shower
My mom told me this story today: her friend (who graciously lets us stay at her Azores cabin) hosts an annual dinner at her home in Napa. She invites her family and friends. As is typical whenever you gather a group of Portuguese people together, the conversation turns to aches and pains and illnesses, each
Mom had a reasonably good night with pain and nausea being managed aggressively. I saw the surgeon this morning. He is encouraged by the softness in her belly (it was hard and distended yesterday). He ordered an Xray (I reminded him she had one two weeks ago; starting to worry a little about all this
Mom is in the hospital. I called her this morning and she was in extreme pain, plus the ever present vomiting. She sounded awful. I called her doctor, and his nurse later called and told her to go to the emergency department. Her brother took her. I has not completely unpacked from my return on
I’ve written about it before, the three biggest “quality of life” issues that face a cancer patient—pain, nausea and fatigue. Mom continues to struggle with all three. For a few weeks, the nausea was generally managed. She would feel crappy for a day or two after chemotherapy, and would slowly get back to normal before
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No obstruction. The mystery continues. Doc continues to be convinced the pain is caused by scar tissue, which doesn’t show up on X-ray. The pain is right in the area where her left kidney was removed, so it makes sense. No treatment except the management of pain. Fentanyl patch seems to be doing the trick,