My mom got worse so quickly

sue1965 · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:22 am Post subject: My mom got worse so quickly

I am posting for the first time today but have been reading posts for a while. My heart goes out to all of you who are going through this horrible ordeal.

My mom has stage 4 NSCLC with mets to a rib, hip and skull. She was diagnosed 3/7/06 and did well for so long, undergoing 3 different rounds of chemo (tarceva, navelbine and gemzar). They were going to start her on a harsher chemo but she started to decline and her weight was dropping. She is 71 and down to about 94 lbs. She is undergoing daily radiation to the hip.

She developed swelling in one leg and also fever and was admitted to the hospital for blood clots (DVT's) which traveled to her lungs. She is now on heparin, coumadin and lovocol (sp) injections daily. She can barely walk and the dr. told us that she must undergo
physical therapy or she will never get out of bed again although there is also a chance they could accidentally fracture her hip due to a hole the cancer has made.

Has anyone else had experience with DVT's and if so, how long was your loved one in the hospital and did they make a full recovery? The docs told us she would not be leaving the hospital any time soon. I am so scared at this point and feel so bad for her due to the lack of quality of life. Any and all advise or responses would be appreciated. This all happened so quickly and now they are basically talking about hospice care. Can anyone give me info on exactly what hospice does for the patient and family? Thank you so much.

kaylany · Regular Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 31 Location: New York

Sue,
We are in the process of setting up hospice care for my mom in law. I just posted a few days ago her latest update, so I won't go into all that.
Basically the latest is that she's in the hospital now, still can't walk around, she's been like that now for about 2 weeks. The dr. told us no more treatments, and to get in hospice. He said best case she has 2 months. I'm still kind of numb at this point, it all seems surreal. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Basically from what i've learned so far, hospice is nurses and volunteers that have a main goal of giving the patient the best quality of life and managing their pain to make the patient as comfortable as possible. They will bring in a hospital bed to your home, any other things needed such as an oxygen tank and things of that nature.

My husband is meeting with the hospice rep. tonight and so far we know they will come here 2 hours a day for 5 days a week. And he learned when it gets close to the end, she can go somewhere else that is set up almost like an apartment with around the clock care, and a pullout couch for us to stay with her and sleepover. I never heard of this but that's what he told me.

They have home health aides that can also help with helping the patient dress, go to the bathroom, bathing, they can make meals and even do laundry for the patient. I don't know yet how often they stay at the house. Our hopice rep. is going to also give us info on who to call for more home nurse care b/c i'm the one with my mom in law every day all day. But I also have 4 kids to care for. I wouldn't be able to do everything for her, so we need more help. They also have counseling and grief support too for loved ones.

If your mom has a tough time moving around like my mom in law, you need to decide if you need more help on top of hospice, or if you or someone else in your family will take care of her in that aspect. Here are some hospice web sites that help you find ones close to where you are. You can also talk to a social worker at the hospital for help. My heart goes out to you, Kayla

www.hospicefoundation.org

www.hospiceweb.com

www.hospice.com
_________________
kaylaNY

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