Guest caroline k Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Hi I posted a few weeks ago. My dad is an R.V.er from Alaska who is stage IIIB NSCLC since 1998. He was spending some winter months in Tucson area when his chemo suddenly stopped working. He developed pleural effusion and had a surgery to use talcum powder to attach the lung to the pleura and a temporary drain was placed...don't know the name of the procedure. Anyway...he has done so well with chemo and fighting the cancer and now all of a sudden he is in a hospital bed and on a nasal cannula all of the time and has to use a mask some of the time and doesn't have the energy to walk more than 20 feet. I can't believe how quickly he went downhill. Apparently the cancer has still not mets but they have decided to stop treating it. They did say that there are no more lung cancer treatments and my dad is feeling pretty weak but is it really time to give up? Things were sounding so bad my family and I flew down there...unfortunately my husband and son had colds. I asked the nurse if my dad should wear a mask while they were in his room but she didn't think it was necessary. Well we got back yesterday and when I talked to my Dad today ...he has a fever of 102 degrees!!! Did we get him sick?? That @#! nurse if we did. This is especially devestating because my dad was planning to take and air ambulance on Wednesday to get back to Alaska. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Yes i would suggest seeking a second opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Hi Caroline, I'm sorry to hear that your father is not feeling well. There are bound to be some ups and downs in this battle! During my Moms chemo we were told to keep sick people away from her as the chemo would destroy the white blood cells... Unfortunately I was the one who was taking care of her and I got a miserable cold.. I cried because i was so scared she would get it but there was no one else there to help. So I wore this scarf over my face and wore gloves to give the pills and laid down within an earshot away.. She started getting worse.. so I brought her into the doctor and he had the same thing! I noticed his red sniffling nose and then to my horror he sneezed in her face as he was examing her lymph nodes!!!!! I quess what I'm trying to say is that there is no way to protect them as much as we would like. You can try and I would encourage that.. but there are bound to be infections, colds, clots and in my Moms case it was Low blood pressure and potassium levels were off and she had the stomach flu. Don't blame yourself!! Please keep us posted! I am praying for you and your father! Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Caroline - There is NO WAY you should feel that you made your dad sick. He is in a hospital and ANY nurse will tell you - the biggest "germ factory" and the best place to "catch" something is in the hospital. I rather doubt you are a 'carrier' of a cold bug. Hugs and more hugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 As Shannon says, Caroline, the hospital (and doctor's waitng rooms) are notorious places to pick up infections. My wife got a staph infection while in the hospital for dehydration and a bacterial infection. It happens! That is why my motto is not to stay in the hospital a day longer than necessary. That is the irony of the place -- you get healed there, but you can also catch things there, especially if your immune system is low due to radiation or chemo. I hope the best for your dad. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karma1976 Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 My dad was sent home from the hospital with his pnemonia cause the doctor knew it was the worst place for him once they did what they had to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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