Fri, Feb 19, 2016

8:00 am update. Dad not much better. Moves slow. Talks soft. Doesn't eat much, although he ate some oatmeal this morning. I still think that he needs to work harder at gulping down fluids.

My update to Jeff:

Wednesday was tough. Dad had a lot of bone joint pain in the afternoon and evening, due to the chemo.

Thursday was a little better. We went to the Bellaire hospital yesterday afternoon to see Dr. Shinn about getting a stronger pain reliever, which the doctor prescribed. The new pain relievers help some. The bone joint pain is temporary. I'm guessing that it will subside this weekend.

I have not heard Dad complain about the lung pain due to the blood clots. Maybe the clots have dissolved some.

This morning, Dad is about the same. He is not dizzy like Monday morning.

After Tuesday, which was a good day, he seems more like last Saturday or Sunday. He moves slow and talks softly. It's a bit difficult for him to get in and out of the car.

Eventually, he's going to need to try some exercise like the doctor suggested. He's trying to stay hydrated, but I think that he could do better by drinking or gulping down water, instead of sipping water from a tiny 8-ounce bottle.

He doesn't eat enough in my opinion. He ate some oatmeal early this morning, and then a short while ago, he ate applesauce. That's what he should do: eat a bunch of small items throughout the day and evening.

Dad has trouble staying in one spot for long. He will sit up for a short time, and then he will go lie down for a short time, and then get back up and repeat.

He could be bored. It will be around 60 degrees tomorrow. I'm hoping to get Dad outside for a walk. We go to Wheeling today for a liter of fluids per Dr. Shinn's instructions from yesterday.

The doctor thinks Dad is still a little parched. If 64 ounces of water are recommended that we drink each day, then more than that is required for chemo patients.

I think Dad should drink at least 84 ounces of water/Gatorade each day, and then if he drinks Boost or coffee or eats soup, that's all extra fluid ounces, which means he could total about 100 ounces each day.

He has not drank any of the Gatorade in small bottles that we bought on Wednesday. Drinking plain water all day can be boring, in my opinion. That's why it makes sense to make a weak Gatorade drink from powder.

I will keep on him about trying Gatorade. I will buy a small can of orange Gatorade powder from Reisbeck's today to test.

Overcast morning and windy. Temp 35 degrees at about 9:00 am. Strong south-southwest winds will warm us.

We arrived at Wheeling hospital at 11:50 am. Dad went back at 12:21 pm. We are at the clinic part where he received the chemo Monday and returned the pump on Wednesday.

We will probably be at the hospital until about 3:00 p.m.

Dad needs to increase his salt intake and probably consume over 90 ounces of fluids each day.

IV liter of fluids completed at 3:15 pm. We arrived home at 4:10 pm.

My 8:05 pm update to Jeff:

He seems better this evening. He's talking with a louder voice. He slept well for a while at Wheeling hospital when he received fluids. It took nearly three hours for one liter of fluids to be administered to Dad. Once home, he slept well for a while this evening. He's up now. He needs more salt in his diet too.