It is a dreary Sabbath day with gray skies and the promise of rain returning as I type this post. Dad hit rock bottom in a sudden turn on Friday that led to another visit to the emergency room on Saturday for a bag of saline to deal with dehydration. With the full liquid diet becoming unbearable to him due to no appetite or will power, a feeding tube will need to be surgically inserted some time this week. Monday is the day we’ll know when.
Malnutrition is causing problems, ranging from swollen feet to an inability to keep warm. We were fortunate that the oncology specialist handling my father’s case happened to be on call this weekend and the doctor on duty ran into him. Since the endoscopy results show the cancer completely gone, the remaining two chemotherapy sessions may be halved in dosage or even dispensed with. Prednisone will be removed from the RCHOP no matter what is decided.
That’s the good news. Not so good is the feeding tube being a temporary measure before some kind of surgery on the severely narrowed outlet of the stomach. Balloon inflation to stretch it is one option with the other being resectioning which would be far more difficult.
In the meantime, Dad has to consume liquids no matter how he feels. I have to carefully measure out my energy to keep things going. Friends are worried I don’t have enough distractions or socializing, but the math is simple when it comes to energy: having fun takes energy and I have none whatsoever to spare right now.
Being a problem solver by nature (i.e.: dog, bone, don’t interrupt me), this does not bother me as much as it bothers them, I’m finding. Dealing with what needs to be dealt with not only matters more to me, it keeps me going. The rest is trivial, therefor it gets the attention it deserves, which is none. This may be an aberrant attitude in modern society or so I’m beginning to suspect.
Distractions are good for those really suffering, so I’ve gotten out a jigsaw puzzle for Dad to mess with while sitting near the pellet stove. This should be good for maintaining and restoring mental acuity to some degree or so I hope. Lately he’s been watching MeTV which is a broadcast channel populated with TV shows of the ‘60s to ‘70s. To my surprise, he’s been enjoying it even though he never was much of a watcher back in the day.
What I’ve caught makes me realize how much better character actors here in the USA used to be. Now we have to import them from the UK.
And on that rather trivial note I will end this post. Things need doing.
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