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The fight is almost over.


poggie

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I know that I haven't posted here in a long time but I do read the board.

My mother in law was diagnosed just over 4 years ago with Stage IV lung cancer. This was a shock to us because she had never smoked a day in her life.

She has fought hard and we're lucky that she was never in any pain (or at least she said that she wasn't) and had very little side effects to all of the chemo that she's taken. She did very well on Tarceva for several years but her body just can't fight anymore.

She is currently in ICU at a local hospital but the family will be meeting with hospice tomorrow to find out if there is a bed available in a hospice home.

Right now, our world just seems to be crashing down. My father is also in ICU but in a hospital 5 hours from our home. He had emergency surgery on Dec 28th. They needed to remove 18 feet of his small intestine. He had a blood clot that cause the bowel to die. He also had air pockets in his liver. He survived the surgery but needed another operation Jan 4th to repair a leak. He's still in ICU but it's not looking good for him either. His white cell count keeps climbing, he has pneumonia in his lungs and the blood cultures are now showing yeast and e coli in his blood. I spent 4 days with him last week and my family went back again late Thursday night and came home Saturday.

Needless to say, our family is torn. My children will be loosing a grandparent from each side of the family in a very short time.

We all knew that these days would come. We just didn't think that it would be all at the same time.

:cry:

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My thoughts and Prayers go out to you and your Family at this very Troublesomes time in Life I am so sorry to hear this news and I wish icould do more besides just offering Prayers and support.

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Wow - 4 years, what a fight! I'm so sorry for what's happening in your family. My mom was also a non-smoker Stage IV, Tarceva just stopped working for her as well, and things have gone down hill too. What a miracle drug that was, I didn't appreciate it until it stopped working. :? Please know we are here for you, and prayers for both your mother in law and father.

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You certainly have a full plate and you are carrying a very heavy load. I wish your dad was closer.

I am so sorry for this difficult time. I just want you to kmow that I am thinking of you.

Please keep us posted. We are always here for you.

Maryanne

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Thank you all for your thoughts and prayer.

My mother in law is still hanging on. We all went to see her last night but she was pretty much asleep. My youngest daughter is disabled (she has a very rare genetic disease). When she laughed, my mother in law tried really hard to open her eyes. To us, that was a sign that she was still with us but just not able to respond.

She was moved out of ICU last night and into a room on the hospice floor. The staff thought that she would pass during the night or sometime today but she's still fighting. Her blood pressure has come back up and her heart rate is back in the normal range. My husband and his brother went to see her at lunch and she opened her eyes for them. He told her that he loved her and she whispered "I love you too".

My dad on the other hand has taken a turn for the worse. The doctors have found that he now has C Diff Colitis and has bacteria growing around his heart.

He had an artery to his leg replaced several years ago. He's been having a lot of pain in that leg lately and the color is changing. Testing shows that the artificial artery is clogged and he's getting very little blood flow to the leg. They were talking about amputating it if he survived but that's not likely and they can not control the pain now. He's still on the vent but can nod. My sister told him about my mother in law and he began to cry and choke.

We're still very torn but if my mother in law is still hanging on, we'll be heading to see him on Saturday. For now, we can only take one day at a time.

Thanks again for all of your support!

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wish I could say or do more,but. About the c.diff as it iscalled. Make sure to follow very strict sanitation rules and hand washing and gloves and masks. Flagellyn and Vancomycin should clear up c.diff. If saline is admined too fast albumion will work as diuretic and relieve some weight gain. If I can help with c.diff questions let me know. My late wife battled it and won that fight. Hugs and Prayers for the whole Family right now. So sorry you have so much on the plate right now.

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My mother-in-law's fight is over. She died yesterday evening around 5:30. My husband was holding her hand as she took her last breath. He said that she seemed at peace.

My dad on the other hand is not at peace. We were with him this past weekend. He is in an enormous amount of pain. He is healing well from the surgeries and the C Diff is getting under control but his leg is causing him so much pain. He has no pulse in that leg and it's turning gangrene. He has been on a vent since his last surgery (Jan 4,2008). He's been trying to tell us something for several days now. Finally yesterday, they realized that what he was asking for was to have the vent removed. So, late last night it was taken out. My sister stayed with him the whole night and said that he seemed to be holding his own. At some points he would go down to 6 breaths but would go back up into the 20's. We know that it's only a matter of time.

I don't blame him one bit for giving up. He has been in pain since he had two stokes when he was 42 (1973).

I just wish that we could be with him and that there was some type of medication that they could give him to take the pain away. Even as he sleeps, his leg twitches constantly. I HATE the fact that my family has to choose whom to be with. Do we stay here for the wake and funeral or do we drive 300 miles to hold my dad's hand? If we stay, will my dad (and the rest of my family) feel that we've abandoned him? It's all just so hard! The wake is going to be Thursday with the funeral on Friday.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

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