(no subject)
I've been bad about updating here since my last post, but the last few days have been pretty sucky/ scary/ stressful...
On Sunday night, a little after 1AM, I heard my phone ringing, the call coming from my dad's cell phone. I knew it had to be an emergency at that time of night. It was my brother, calling from the ER at the small local hospital, saying my dad had been losing a lot of blood, from somewhere in his digestive system, and he was being taken to the bigger hospital where he's been going, by helicopter. I said I'd meet them there, and I got some of my stuff together, not knowing how long I'd be away, then rushed off. I thought I'd be the last to arrive, being farther away, but I ended up getting there before my brothers, and I was the first to see him after they got there, though a few people got there quicker, since they lived closer (my mom, my uncle, and my dad's best friend). I was relieved to see he was awake, and we talked a bit. They thought the bleeding was from his pancreas, which could have been really bad. A little while after that, my brothers arrived.
Later in the morning, after a specialist arrived, and they'd given him enough blood transfusions, they did a scope to see where the bleeding was coming from, and it turned out to be an ulcer in his stomach, which had stopped bleeding by then. I guess that's good news, not as bad as if it had been from his pancreas, and it looks like he'll be okay in the short term, maybe no worse off than he had been before. There had been talk about maybe having to stop chemo, which he started about a month ago, and has been making him feel a bit better, and hopefully giving him some more time. It sounds like they're going to be able to continue with that, though.
He's doing better now, though not feeling very good, and he's moved from ICU to a regular room. Brian and I went to visit after work yesterday. Tonight it sounded like he just needed to rest, and it wasn't a great time for visitors, but I'll probably go again tomorrow after work. It sounds like he'll be there for a few more days, though I don't know for sure how long.
Of the possible scenarios running through my head on my way to the hospital at 2 in the morning, this is about the best outcome I could have hoped for. There was a possible new risk, though. There had been a blood clot near my dad's kidneys, and he'd been on blood thinners to deal with that, and prevent new ones from forming. That of course made the bleeding worse, and they've had to give him stuff to stop the bleeding, which means blood clots might be something to worry about again. Today they did a surgery to put a filter in the vein next to the clot so it wouldn't move to his heart/ lungs/ anywhere else. I'm not sure why they couldn't remove the clot itself, though, that's probably something I should have asked about. The only time I heard anything directly from a doctor was Sunday night/ Monday morning awhile after I got there.
What really sucks is knowing that this won't be the last time something like this happens, and next time, or the time after that, the outcome could be way worse.
On Sunday night, a little after 1AM, I heard my phone ringing, the call coming from my dad's cell phone. I knew it had to be an emergency at that time of night. It was my brother, calling from the ER at the small local hospital, saying my dad had been losing a lot of blood, from somewhere in his digestive system, and he was being taken to the bigger hospital where he's been going, by helicopter. I said I'd meet them there, and I got some of my stuff together, not knowing how long I'd be away, then rushed off. I thought I'd be the last to arrive, being farther away, but I ended up getting there before my brothers, and I was the first to see him after they got there, though a few people got there quicker, since they lived closer (my mom, my uncle, and my dad's best friend). I was relieved to see he was awake, and we talked a bit. They thought the bleeding was from his pancreas, which could have been really bad. A little while after that, my brothers arrived.
Later in the morning, after a specialist arrived, and they'd given him enough blood transfusions, they did a scope to see where the bleeding was coming from, and it turned out to be an ulcer in his stomach, which had stopped bleeding by then. I guess that's good news, not as bad as if it had been from his pancreas, and it looks like he'll be okay in the short term, maybe no worse off than he had been before. There had been talk about maybe having to stop chemo, which he started about a month ago, and has been making him feel a bit better, and hopefully giving him some more time. It sounds like they're going to be able to continue with that, though.
He's doing better now, though not feeling very good, and he's moved from ICU to a regular room. Brian and I went to visit after work yesterday. Tonight it sounded like he just needed to rest, and it wasn't a great time for visitors, but I'll probably go again tomorrow after work. It sounds like he'll be there for a few more days, though I don't know for sure how long.
Of the possible scenarios running through my head on my way to the hospital at 2 in the morning, this is about the best outcome I could have hoped for. There was a possible new risk, though. There had been a blood clot near my dad's kidneys, and he'd been on blood thinners to deal with that, and prevent new ones from forming. That of course made the bleeding worse, and they've had to give him stuff to stop the bleeding, which means blood clots might be something to worry about again. Today they did a surgery to put a filter in the vein next to the clot so it wouldn't move to his heart/ lungs/ anywhere else. I'm not sure why they couldn't remove the clot itself, though, that's probably something I should have asked about. The only time I heard anything directly from a doctor was Sunday night/ Monday morning awhile after I got there.
What really sucks is knowing that this won't be the last time something like this happens, and next time, or the time after that, the outcome could be way worse.