Sorry, I haven't been on to give an update on my husband, but by the time I get home at night I just get something to eat, walk the dog and go to bed.
Well, things do not look good. The first chemo treatment actually worked and kicked cancers butt. However, it turns out he also had a perforation in his small intestine. He had surgery on March 11. It was worse than they thought. Sixty inches of his small intestine were cut out and reattached and the area flushed out. The bowels were matted together -- I guess it was a real mess. He has been on a breathing tube ever since. This past Thursday, the 15th, he had a second surgery to flush the area again and close the incision. He has had a number of problems since then -- racing heartbeat (150 beats per min), low heartbeat, low blood pressure which is being controlled with medicine and I can't remember everything else. They try to wean him off the sedation but then he becomes very agitated and tries to pull tubes and lines out, so they put big, fluffy mittens on him, but last night he still tried to pull stuff out with them. So they put him back on sedation.
The biggest thing is getting him off the breathing tube. He has been on it now 9 days and they are giving it a couple of more days and if he does not end up breathing on his own, then they will want to put in a trach and a feeding tube and he would end up in a nursing home. He has said many times he does not want to live like that and would not allow it. He looks to me to make sure it is done the way he wants. Also, he has already missed one chemo treatment and if he cannot get off the breathing tube in the next day or two, then the lymphoma will probably come back. We were told today that if there were any family and/or friends that would want to see him to tell them to come in over the next day or two. My sister and her husband came this evening and DH's best friend that he worked with for probably 30+ years, came in also.
So now, I have this horrible decision to make but, thankfully, after my California son was here for the past six days and saw the condition his dad is in, I think he has finally begun to realize that this would be the right decision. We are just hoping and praying that he will be able to breath on his own over the next day or two.
Thanks for all the prayers, thoughts and hugs. They have meant so much to me.
Nancy
Well, things do not look good. The first chemo treatment actually worked and kicked cancers butt. However, it turns out he also had a perforation in his small intestine. He had surgery on March 11. It was worse than they thought. Sixty inches of his small intestine were cut out and reattached and the area flushed out. The bowels were matted together -- I guess it was a real mess. He has been on a breathing tube ever since. This past Thursday, the 15th, he had a second surgery to flush the area again and close the incision. He has had a number of problems since then -- racing heartbeat (150 beats per min), low heartbeat, low blood pressure which is being controlled with medicine and I can't remember everything else. They try to wean him off the sedation but then he becomes very agitated and tries to pull tubes and lines out, so they put big, fluffy mittens on him, but last night he still tried to pull stuff out with them. So they put him back on sedation.
The biggest thing is getting him off the breathing tube. He has been on it now 9 days and they are giving it a couple of more days and if he does not end up breathing on his own, then they will want to put in a trach and a feeding tube and he would end up in a nursing home. He has said many times he does not want to live like that and would not allow it. He looks to me to make sure it is done the way he wants. Also, he has already missed one chemo treatment and if he cannot get off the breathing tube in the next day or two, then the lymphoma will probably come back. We were told today that if there were any family and/or friends that would want to see him to tell them to come in over the next day or two. My sister and her husband came this evening and DH's best friend that he worked with for probably 30+ years, came in also.
So now, I have this horrible decision to make but, thankfully, after my California son was here for the past six days and saw the condition his dad is in, I think he has finally begun to realize that this would be the right decision. We are just hoping and praying that he will be able to breath on his own over the next day or two.
Thanks for all the prayers, thoughts and hugs. They have meant so much to me.
Nancy
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