Dad.... Here we go again
So, a couple of weeks ago we found out that Dad will likely never be a candidate for chemo again. The doctors do not think he'd survive another round of it. We kinda already knew this, but I guess it's more official coming from the docs.
Monday, he went back into the hospital for bilateral pneumonia. They put him on antibiotics. It seems to be getting under control. However, while in the hospital, they discovered two things. One, that is blood count was low... which means that the benefits of his last round of chemo (that almost killed him) has worn off and the leukemia is again attacking his blood cells. They have given him some blood in the hospital, which is a somewhat temporary fix. Last time, before they started the chemo, they were having to give him blood several times a week. The other thing they discovered was that he had a MRSA infection in his blood stream, so they are giving him antibiotics for that. But MRSA is a bitch of an infection and difficult to get rid of...it's along the lines of having a staph infection. Usually it comes from a wound, but Dad's is internal so they're not sure how he got it.
That his blood count is dropping is scary because that means the leukemia is kicking up again. But, this time, he can't get the treatment he needs. Also, if he could take the chemo AND if it worked, he would have a possibility of going into remission. Since he can't get the chemo, the leukemia is just going to run through his body.
So, if I have seemed somewhat reclusive lately, this why. If I have seemed somewhat testy or emotional, this why. I just don't feel like being around a lot of people right now. I plan on spending as much time with him as possible. We don't know what's going to happen. He could live a year or two just getting blood when he needed it, I guess. Or, he could die next week. The docs won't give us a time frame because they don't know, themselves. It's a catch 22... he can't get the treatment for the disease that's killing him because the treatment, itself, would kill him.
Monday, he went back into the hospital for bilateral pneumonia. They put him on antibiotics. It seems to be getting under control. However, while in the hospital, they discovered two things. One, that is blood count was low... which means that the benefits of his last round of chemo (that almost killed him) has worn off and the leukemia is again attacking his blood cells. They have given him some blood in the hospital, which is a somewhat temporary fix. Last time, before they started the chemo, they were having to give him blood several times a week. The other thing they discovered was that he had a MRSA infection in his blood stream, so they are giving him antibiotics for that. But MRSA is a bitch of an infection and difficult to get rid of...it's along the lines of having a staph infection. Usually it comes from a wound, but Dad's is internal so they're not sure how he got it.
That his blood count is dropping is scary because that means the leukemia is kicking up again. But, this time, he can't get the treatment he needs. Also, if he could take the chemo AND if it worked, he would have a possibility of going into remission. Since he can't get the chemo, the leukemia is just going to run through his body.
So, if I have seemed somewhat reclusive lately, this why. If I have seemed somewhat testy or emotional, this why. I just don't feel like being around a lot of people right now. I plan on spending as much time with him as possible. We don't know what's going to happen. He could live a year or two just getting blood when he needed it, I guess. Or, he could die next week. The docs won't give us a time frame because they don't know, themselves. It's a catch 22... he can't get the treatment for the disease that's killing him because the treatment, itself, would kill him.