Wally is going home today.

We are in the process of figuring out all of the particulars for Wally's release from the hospital. He will be traveling home via ambulance since he cant sit up with out much much pain. Hospice will be coming to talk to me today about caring for him at home in his final days.

The doctors have told me to let everyone know if they want to see Wally, now is the time. We have noticed he is getting confused when reading notes, which is his main way of getting information from others. He is still in very good spirits. Yesterday when one of his nurses, Tracy was trying ot get him to eat some more food, she held up his Ensure for him to drink instead of the water he had...he tapped the Ensure with his cup in a toast and started laughing!

A new air mattress will be delivered today. It is supposed to help prevent Wally from getting bed sores. Things are moving fast, but we are doing all we can to keep Wally comfortable and happy in his final days.

I will write more as I have time and as more information becomes available. Keep praying for Wally's comfort.

Tuesday September 11

This day is one to remember people like Wally who have served our country in the military and other ways. Say a prayer for those you know and those you don't, a lot of which are still in harms way.

Wally ate a whole bowl of Corn Flakes for breakfast and a few sips of yogurt (it is easier for him to sip it). That is great considering he has not eaten much for several weeks. His doctor said that is normal and not to worry too much. She also said that would not keep him from going home. She said that hospice could not give him a nutritional IV, and normally does not do and IV with fluids either. He seems less agitated today too. His radiation today is at 12:15 pm. If all goes well he can go home tomorrow after his radiation is completed. She is looking into how much an ambulance would cost for him to travel home in, since he is so uncomfortable sitting and too weak to walk more then a few feet.

You can tell when he is feeling well because he flirts with the women nurses and doctors! Lots of winks getting passed around! Wally likes the ladies!

Wallys hospital bed is being delivered today. So when he comes home he will have a more comfortable bed that can be adjusted when he wants to sit us. Mostly Wally is doing well with his loss of his independance over the course of the past year. The past month has seen the most change in his being able to do things for himself. There are times when he gets angry and frustrated, but mostly he just accepts help when needed. He is still not good about ASKING for help, but that is just the way he is, never wanting to be a bother to anyone!

Please continue to send cards and notes. He likes knowing you are all thinking about him!

Update from Dawn

Wally had a restless weekend. It is getting harder sometimes to keep him comfortable. Sometimes he is comfortable and sleeps or watches tv, but most of the time he seems very restless and in pain. But of course Wally wants to make sure everyone else is comfortable! When the dr. asked him if he was in pain he said, a "wee bit". When she left the room he was moaning and gripping the bed so hard I thought he was gonna break it! On our way to radiation, more later.

Back from radiation. Ralph called and said they were ready to deliver a hospital bed for Wally. Now he is trying to find help in moving Wally's regular bed out of the way to make room for the hospital bed. Right now Wally is resting quietly. He has had a rough morning. When I got here he was doing a breathing treatment and when that was done I noticed that he had oxygen. Sometime last night he had to get oxygen. He does not like it. They told him that he would need to get an x-ray and they wanted to take him in a wheelchair. I asked if they could take him in the bed instead and also he wanted to know why they did not do it in the room like last time. So I asked them. They said that they would need a doctors order to do it in the room with the portable xray machine.

I ordered him breakfast. . .after much coaxing! He wanted to wait until xray was done. I told him we could go ahead and order it because it takes about 40 minutes to arrive. So we ordered it and he took some pain meds. But then he waited for the wheelchair to take him to xray. He kept trying to get out of bed for it. When his food arrived he refused to eat it because he was waiting to go to xray. I had to go get the nurse to tell him to eat now and not wait. He still did not want to eat. He finally did eat about 3 bites of eggs and a few sips of chocolate milk.

He was very restless and when one of the doctors came in, he told her he was only in a wee bit of pain. Then he was moaning and writhing in pain after she left and when asked he said his pain was 8 or 9! We had to go through all the things to get the meds- ie scan his tag, get the med, log it in the computer, etc etc. That took a long time and while we were waiting he was miserable. He finally go his IV meds just before they arrived to do his portable chest xray.

Then they called to say he was to go to radiation. He was scheduled to go at 4:15, but I guess when you are at the hospital they can take him whenever they have an opening. They said that he moved around a lot today and seemed uncomfortable. Right now he is getting hooked back up to his iv and oxegen and his leg wraps. Not sure what they are called, but they massage his legs since he is not walking.

Second Treatment

Wally had his second radiation treatment on Friday afternoon. It was very quick -- only about 20 minutes or so. Wally seems to be taking them well. The doctor has ordered 3 more treatments. The next one will be on Monday. If we can get the rest done on Tuesday and Wednesday, Wally might be sent home after that. Wally has mentioned that he wants to go home a couple of times now -- he isn't happy in the hospital. But it's better that he gets good treatment there.

On Friday evening, Dawn and I went to dinner with the Flanagans, our neighbors. After dinner, they came to visit with Wally: he was pleased to see them. Karen, a former nurse, talked to Wally for quite awhile.

Yesterday (Saturday), we took the kids to visit Grandpa Wally. They brought him cards and balloons, and gave him hugs and kisses. He was glad to see them. Wally asked my daughter Maeghan if she saw the kitten under the sink -- the cat that isn't there. She shook her head and shrugged, to indicate that she did not see the cat. Ironically, one of the kids brought him a card with a picture of a kitten on it, so now there is a cat in the room (but it isn't under the sink). Dawn taped the cards to the closet door at the foot of Wally's bed, so he can see them. We didn't stay very long -- kids and hospitals just don't mix. The kids got restless and noisy after about a half-hour, so I took them to the movies, while Dawn stayed with Wally.

Later that evening, some former neighbors of ours (the Acostas) came by to visit with Wally. They used to live across the street from us, and used to visit with Wally often. He really likes them, too, so he was happy to see them, too.

First Treatment

Wally had the radiation simulation, and his first radiation treatment, this morning. They plan to do at least four more treatments, doubling them up over the course of the next several days (for a total of 10). They will do 2 more tomorrow, but they have not yet decided whether or not to do the next set on Saturday, or wait until Monday.

He did very well: having adequate rest and pain management, as well as forgoing the 25 minute car ride, seems to have helped significantly. He was back in his room just after lunchtime. He even felt well enough to walk to the bathroom (with a little assistance).

However, later in the afternoon, it became apparent that this was too much exertion for him, as he became increasingly tired and restless. He was unable to walk to the bathroom for a second trip, but was able to use a portable bedside commode, instead. Another hour or so after that, he had some additional pain break through in his left shoulder, so we had to ask for more medication. The doctor increased his regimen to every 2 hours (instead of every 4 hours).

But I am a little concerned about the pain medication they are giving him. On Tuesday, when he was on the self-administered morphine, he claimed to have seen a cat in the room. Obviously, they don't allow cats in the hospital, so there wasn't a cat in the room. So they took away the PCA machine: no more morphine, no more cat.

Unfortunately, the cat is back today. Even though Wally did need the additional medication for the break-through pain, it appears it brought back the cat. It's a completely different medicine, and is administered by a nurse, so it's not exactly the same situation. But he claims he sees a kitten on the counter -- I wonder if it's the same cat as on Tuesday?

He had a bit of dinner: he ordered a hamburger and french fries. He ate quite a few french fries, but he did not touch the hamburger. He also sipped some whole milk and nibbled a bit of chocolate pudding.

I am concerned about his lack of appetite. He has lost so much weight, he's a wisp of his former self (which wasn't that much to start with). Both the doctors and the nurses have assured me that this is not unusual with cancer patients: apparently, the cancer releases a protein that suppresses appetite (!?). They are not worried about it yet, but are monitoring the situation, just in case. He is on IV fluids, so he is staying well hydrated.

Biopsy Results

After a full day in the hospital, with a more comfortable bed, an IV full of fluids and pain killers, Wally is feeling much better than he has since he was at Research Belton Hospital. He is sitting up, alert, interacting with people, smiling, laughing, joking, etc. It's good to see "the old Wally" back in action.

He had another sonogram of his kidneys tonight, because they want more information about the cysts they saw there earlier. Also, Dawn spoke with a social worker about home health care, and possible options for hospice.

Finally, another radiation oncologist came by (an associate of Wally's original radiation doctor), to deliver the results of the biopsy. The mass appears to be consistent with lung cancer, that has spread to his spine. This confirms the preliminary diagnoses, and makes it "official". The next step is to see another oncologist, who will discuss our options for treatment (besides/in addition to radiation).

Now that Wally has the pain under control, they will do the radiation simulation tomorrow morning, and may start his first radiation treatment on the same day. We'll also be talking to the new oncologist tomorrow, about chemotherapy and other options.

Wally was not perturbed by this news: in fact, he seemed to be resigned to it. He's not in bad spirits, but he's not happy about it, either -- which is to be expected. As usual, Wally is taking all this stoically, just as he has faced other challenges in his life. It's good to know that Wally is Wally, through and through...

Radiation Simulation

After the long drive to the cancer treatment center, Wally was in too much pain to lay still for the radiation simulation. They could not do it. The radiation oncologist was dismayed by this: if he cannot lay still for the simulation, he may not be able to lay still for the treatments, either. Quite a conundrum.

We explained to the doctor that the commute was the primary cause of Wally's pain, that sitting up hurts, and tha the bumpy ride makes it worse. He is only comfortable laying on his right side.

We asked how long and how many treatments Wally would need. He said that a course of 10 treatments, 1 per day, was standard for this kind of situation. We told him that this was unacceptable: there is no way that Wally could tolerate 20 trips to and from treatment. The doctor said that they could compress that to 2 treatments per day, over 5 days, instead.

While a better solution, it still meant 10 painful trips for Wally. I asked if he could be admitted to the hospital for a week, instead, to get the treatments. The radiation oncologist said no, he cannot admit Wally, because the radiation treatments are considered "outpatient".

But he did suggest that we see if Wally could be admitted for "pain management". He could see just how miserable Wally was, and we had told him about how miserable he was at home, too. The prescription pain-killers given to Wally are simply inadequate. We told him how much better Wally was doing at Research Belton, where they were able to give him intravenous pain medications (and fluids), instead. The doctor agreed that we would be justified to admit him under those conditions, and that he would call the ER doctor right away.

We wheeled Wally down to the ER, where they ran some additional tests. They concurred that the hospital could do a better job of pain management, so they admitted him. They also said that this was pending further testing, and the results of the biopsy -- without that, we still don't have an "official" diagnosis of cancer.

So now Wally is resting comfortably in Room 404 at Menorah Medical Center, which is the home of the cancer treatment center, too. Now we're just waiting for the biopsy results...