What a Week!

Sunday

At 0245 I was woken from my slumbers to a phone call from Care Line, the phone call I've been dreading for some time now, one of my parents needed help

I was informed my dad was suffering with chest pains and that an ambulance was on its way to him, I quickly got dressed and drove straight to my parents house

As I pulled up I was relieved to see the Abulance crew were already on site and had everything under control, they were just getting ready to pack up their equipment and take my dad to the A&E at Guildford Hospital and I was to follow along behind

Once dad was admitted into A&E and had some tests done it was soon established that his sodium levels were really high and that he was very dehydrated, so he was immediately put on a drip to rehydrate him

After a while dad was taken down for a CT scan to hopefully find out what was  causing his chest pains, the ECG's that both the paramedics took at dads house and the one he had done on admittance to A&E showed some changes but nothing conclusive to explain his chest pains which were excruciatingly painful whenever they came on

I can't fault he staff in the Royal Surrey County Hospital A&E Dept they have been truly amazing and compassionate to dad's every need, he was even given both breakfast and lunch

I had absolutely no idea they did meals in A&E, but then again it's my first time ever visiting an A&E Dept when I've not needed surgery of one type or another after a stupid accident

As dad's ECG was inconclusive I suspect the chest pains could be in some way be related to his recent radiotherapy treatments for esophageal cancer

When we finally got given the CT results they revealed that dad has blood clots in his lungs, whilst it was a relief to hear he hadn't suffered any type of heart attack, this wasn't the news we wanted to hear either 

When dad was told he was going to have to be admitted to a ward, he visibly shrank before my eyes and became most distressed

I won't go into details

When I left the hospital a few hours later that evening dad was settled in the Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) and receiving oxygen, I felt so guilty leaving him I can tell you, but hospital really is the best place for him at the moment, his pain can be better managed and breaking down these clots can be supervised

Monday

Today my priority is ensuring mum has everything she needs at home after being on her own for most of yesterday with my parents amazing neighbours popping in to check on her under the guise of it being a random visit

Thankfully mum was having a really good day yesterday and started getting annoyed with me for keep phoning up to check in on her and interrupting her programmes on the TV

Whenever mum's feisty with me all is as it should be, it's when she's compliant and meek that I start to worry, as that's not how our relationship has ever been

 

Tuesday

Some good(ish) news at last, late yesterday afternoon dad was transferred from the EAU to a much quieter three man room on the oncology ward

Without the hustle and bustle going on around him of the EAU dad was a lot less stressed and much more settled than when I'd visited him last night

I had a really long chat with one of the nurses and it was refreshing to be asked about dads speech and if it was at a normal baseline for him, to those that may not know my dad has a life long stammer which makes it harder for him to speak, especially when he's stressed

There have been a few occasions in recent months where I've had to advocate quite sternly with staff that they speak directly to dad and give him a chance to reply, rather than to just ask me

I guess it can be frustrating waiting for dad to answer but to me it's second nature and I refuse to take that part of his independence away from him, especially when he has so many questions about what's happening

Obviously I do step in if dad omits something important that he may have forgotten about because of his Alzheimer's, but dad's more than capable of answering most of these questions for himself otherwise

Being asked about dads speech showed a level of compassion I've not come across before since this awful cancer journey started and it made me feel quite emotional 

I'm hoping to speak to dads oncology team later today to get a more up to date picture of what's happening with these clots, dad's still suffering chest pains that need strong pain relief but the frequency of this pain is a lot less than when he was first admitted into hospital on Sunday

Wednesday

Great news - Dad is back to his usual jolly self once more, moving him to a quieter ward has really helped to reduce his stress levels

Dad was up and about when I arrived this afternoon, first time I've seen him out of bed since he was admitted in the early hours on Sunday morning, the physio arrived 5 minutes after I got there and we had a long chat about adaptations that dad may possibly need and what is already in place for mum since her stroke

Before I left I also had a chat with one of the doctors who is pleased with dad's progress, although dad does still need oxygen therapy, it's only for a couple of hours a day now as opposed to 24/7

There are no plans to discharge dad from hospital at the moment as another care plan needs to be put in place at home before they will discharge him. I wonder how long this one will last before dad tells them to clear off as he doesn't need/want any help like he did three days after he was discharged for his knee surgery 

The fact that dad's now back to his usual self and cracking rubbish jokes was the high point of my day, hopefully he'll be well enough to come home soon

Thursday

Nothing new to report as of yet today

But no news is good news as they say

Although I have often wondered who they are, have you?

Photo Description - My dad sitting on a park bench between Boris and Eko as they all look towards the camera

Dawn xxx

This Post is linked too 

Brian's Thankful Thursday

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