Hope it is ok but I took it upon myself to call the social worker at the hospital who will be working with your dad. Her name is Dorothy Swally and can be reached at:
972-519-1584.I informed her that Tracy will be our spokesperson for the family. I gave her Tracy and Stuart's number and asked her to please call if anything comes up. Info was given to her regarding your dads medical history, ie. Peg tube being placed then removed, stay at Gulf States and IV nutrition. She mentioned that because of his experience he may be worried about getting another feeding tube placed. He is able to get chemo and radiation while he is in the hospital. Most likely he won’t finish out his treatments because usually people don’t stay a week in the hospital. At least he might be able to get some treatments while he is there. She will call us if there is anything that we need to be involved with.
Melissa
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
no date yet
As far as I know, no date as been set for Dad's feeding tube. I will check with Dad and his Dr. tomorrow.
Suzanne
Suzanne
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Weight Loss = Feeding Tube
Gang,
I talked to Dad tonight. He sounds terrible. His doctor visit was fairly straightforward. If Dad loses anymore weight he will have to get another feeding tube. Dad weighed 215 when he started this process. He now weighs 186. He says it is like his throat is on fire when he tries to eat. I begged Dad to do his best to ingest 4-5 cans of Ensure a day. He is going to try. His next appointment is Tuesday the 31st at 3pm.
I talked to Dad tonight. He sounds terrible. His doctor visit was fairly straightforward. If Dad loses anymore weight he will have to get another feeding tube. Dad weighed 215 when he started this process. He now weighs 186. He says it is like his throat is on fire when he tries to eat. I begged Dad to do his best to ingest 4-5 cans of Ensure a day. He is going to try. His next appointment is Tuesday the 31st at 3pm.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
We are what we eat...
Sorry I have been bad about posting things when they happen.I agree this is the easiest way to update everyone. WE will try to be better about this...
Talked to your dad last night and he said that he isn't doing great. His doctor didn't give him chemo on Friday because of his blood work. He is getting discouraged about not being able to eat what he wants. I talked to him about drinking 8-10 Ensure Plus drinks a day(per my dietician friend who works with a lot of cancer patients). He says that he can't drink that much liquid. I explained that it is really important that he try to even drink 6/day because this will give him the calories,nutrients,vitamins,etc that he needs. It sounds like he is just missing normal food which we can all imagine how that would be. Most everything he tries to eat isn't very satisfying. The other thing that he did mention was that he has started to cough up blood. He told me that he hadn't mentioned this to his doctor. I encouraged him to be open with his doctor about this so they can check this out.
Steven will be in Dallas from April 6-10th. He would like to go with him to talk to his doctor about some of these issues and also what to expect down the road. Even though his treatments may be over soon he will need follow-up on a regular basis. We are going to be back in Dallas in the middle of May and will also check in with him then.
Happy Sunday! Melissa
Talked to your dad last night and he said that he isn't doing great. His doctor didn't give him chemo on Friday because of his blood work. He is getting discouraged about not being able to eat what he wants. I talked to him about drinking 8-10 Ensure Plus drinks a day(per my dietician friend who works with a lot of cancer patients). He says that he can't drink that much liquid. I explained that it is really important that he try to even drink 6/day because this will give him the calories,nutrients,vitamins,etc that he needs. It sounds like he is just missing normal food which we can all imagine how that would be. Most everything he tries to eat isn't very satisfying. The other thing that he did mention was that he has started to cough up blood. He told me that he hadn't mentioned this to his doctor. I encouraged him to be open with his doctor about this so they can check this out.
Steven will be in Dallas from April 6-10th. He would like to go with him to talk to his doctor about some of these issues and also what to expect down the road. Even though his treatments may be over soon he will need follow-up on a regular basis. We are going to be back in Dallas in the middle of May and will also check in with him then.
Happy Sunday! Melissa
Friday, March 13, 2009
Food for thought (ha ha) I am so funny ;)
I called and spoke with Dr. Greenberg's nurse Penny today. Per Penny (who saw him today) Dad is in good spirits and is doing very well. She said he is over half way through with his radiation treatment and has only lost 5 pounds.
I asked her about a special diet for Dad and she said it was mostly common sense at this point (ie: whatever he can tolerate: eggs, oatmeal, soft foods) She also thinks if Dad can consume around 6 cans of Ensure then he should be OK.
There was no mention of any IV feeding, in fact she said they were not even thinking of that at this point.
So, the goal for Dad is to maintain, maintain, maintain!! If he can continue at this rate, he is golden.
She could not comment on his chemo as she does not have much to do with that side of things.
Dad needs to keep eating or at minimum get some nutrition throughout the day (that could be where the Ensure comes in to play). Are we still trying to call Dad once I week? Even an email would be good. If you talk to Dad, even if you think it is irrelevant; just post a comment. It is not that hard to do and it keeps everyone up to speed.
I hope this answers some questions. If there is anything I missed then I can make another call on Monday ;)
Have a super weekend...and Stuart or Tracy, can you manage a visit with Dad soon? I know Tracy was going to go grocery shopping with him and I think that is a great idea. You know how Dad is, he loves to have his hand held!
I asked her about a special diet for Dad and she said it was mostly common sense at this point (ie: whatever he can tolerate: eggs, oatmeal, soft foods) She also thinks if Dad can consume around 6 cans of Ensure then he should be OK.
There was no mention of any IV feeding, in fact she said they were not even thinking of that at this point.
So, the goal for Dad is to maintain, maintain, maintain!! If he can continue at this rate, he is golden.
She could not comment on his chemo as she does not have much to do with that side of things.
Dad needs to keep eating or at minimum get some nutrition throughout the day (that could be where the Ensure comes in to play). Are we still trying to call Dad once I week? Even an email would be good. If you talk to Dad, even if you think it is irrelevant; just post a comment. It is not that hard to do and it keeps everyone up to speed.
I hope this answers some questions. If there is anything I missed then I can make another call on Monday ;)
Have a super weekend...and Stuart or Tracy, can you manage a visit with Dad soon? I know Tracy was going to go grocery shopping with him and I think that is a great idea. You know how Dad is, he loves to have his hand held!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
:::cricket noise::::
Is anyone out there? I spoke with Dad yesterday and he seems to be doing OK. He was telling me that it is hard for him to find something that he likes to eat or can tolerate eating. I am sure that must be very frusterating.
So, if I am correct, then this is the start of Week 3 and he has 4 more to go. I know that it will get worse with time.
He seems to be doing ok otherwise. Complaining that the folks who live in his complex are "very old". Ha! Ha! I just wonder what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
Ok, short and sweet...
Can Stuart or Tracy plan a day to visit him in the upcoming weeks? Just to make sure his apt looks good and he is doing well.
So, if I am correct, then this is the start of Week 3 and he has 4 more to go. I know that it will get worse with time.
He seems to be doing ok otherwise. Complaining that the folks who live in his complex are "very old". Ha! Ha! I just wonder what he sees when he looks in the mirror.
Ok, short and sweet...
Can Stuart or Tracy plan a day to visit him in the upcoming weeks? Just to make sure his apt looks good and he is doing well.
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