Saturday

Mum returned from Rathdrum yesterday and was very glad to get home though she didn't sleep much the night before. She had a great sleep last night and is enjoying being in her own bed watching a nature documentary as I type.

She is in good form though worried about Dad who will return from hospital later today to rest before his next blast of chemo on Tuesday. We hope that he will be in better form during the next few days as the fatigue and difficulty concentrating are getting him down I think.

We have been getting lots of calls from people offering their support and assistance which has been great. With regard to helping , we don't know what we need to get done half the time so it is difficult to take up some of the wonderful offers! We are eternally grateful for your support and thoughts and prayers.

Re-admission

Just to let you know that Dad was readmitted to the Blackrock Clinic this evening as a precaution. He was at home was having difficulty with eating and Jacq rang Blackrock and they said to bring him in to be seen and by the time they got there, a room was waiting for him.

I think that we are all relieved that the care is so good and that they facilitate any difficulties on a 24 hour basis. He will be reviewed tomorrow and was settled in bed when we left him. We hope that this is only a temporary glitch and that he will be feeling better and home soon.

Mum is still coming home as planned on Friday, and we continue to plan for that. She is in good form and looking forward to being in her own bed and seeing everyone.

A Week Later

So Dad has been home a week. The chemo was quite aggressive and it has taken the week for him to show some return to form. It has been hard for him to manage the tiredness and it has required him to only do the necessary so he hasn't been on line or on the phone to anyone. I hope over the next week the improvement will continue.

Mum is due home this day next week and it will be challenging to care for them both properly while the routine resettles. She continues to be cheerful and settled in Rathdrum but is anxious to be home again. She was "ashed" by the RC priest on Wednesday and when I asked the nurse if they realised she was C of I the nurse responded that they didn't mind "Sure the priest just does everyone!!"
Some of the home helps have been visiting her regularly - Ann Marie and Helena have been exceptionally good to Mum (and to the rest of us) during this few weeks

Thank you for your continuing prayers.

Home

Dad left hospital today with an appointment for more chemo next month. It was a beautiful sunny day and we drove from Blackrock to see Mum in Rathdrum briefly before heading home. It was a very tiring day for him and he needed a good rest when he finally got home. Things will be fairly quiet for a while as Dad rests and minds himself so there may not be daily postings but I will put one up soon.

Ernie came home this evening and settled in again immediately with a demand for dinner. Some things never change!

Thank you for your continuing prayers and good wishes.

Discharge

The consultant has given Dad the thumbs up to go home tomorrow afternoon with follow up appointments for whatever is required. He looks forward to being reunited with Ernie - they are great pals as you can see from the photo taken at Christmas. I imagine he will have a good rest when he gets home and will have the opportunity to check his emails etc.

Mum is to stay in Rathdrum until the end of the respite period at the end of the month.

Chemo Starts

Dad was wired up today and had his first session of chemo. The lovely chemo nurse looked after him well and some visitors helped to pass the time. He was in very good form this afternoon and is hoping to be home at the end of the week. He then rests and settles in with Ernie who is on his holidays in Jacq's house.

Mum continues to be in good form and is enjoying the kindness of the visitors who are travelling to Rathdrum to see her.

Another Week

The week has started well. Met the chemotherapy nurse with Dad with yesterday and she went through the side effects of the 3 drugs he was going to get. She was excellent and really helped him to have an informed view. The chemo is scheduled to start over the next couple of days and Dad was told this morning that if all goes according to plan he could be home at the end of the week and will have the following sessions as an out patient. Needless to say, this has cheered him up immensely. We don't know how the chemo will affect him so we can only wait.

He is to see a dietician as he still has to issues eating solids.

Mum is in very good form and it was good to be able to put them on the phone to each other today.

Rugby

Dad was transferred this morning to the Blackrock Clinic (Nightingale Unit) this morning with the plan to begin chemo on Monday. He was transferred by Jacq in time for the Ireland v Italy match, much to his delight and this was added to by the staff giving the ok for a pint of Smithwicks to go with it. Gary kept him company for the event and the correct result must have helped!

Saw Mum she is in good form and seems settled and alert.

Friday

Another day another disappointment. The gastroscopy was done but the ultimate aim of putting in the stent was not achieved. There was a blockage which was relieved enough to allow Dad to drink freely this evening, which a text from him says he is enjoying. The stent was not placed in as apparently it would not have provided a suitable solution to the swallowing difficulty.

We are still hoping for a transfer to the Blackrock Clinic tomorrow and await news of a bed. In the meantime Dad has been moved to a private room in St Vincents which means that if he is there tomorrow afternoon, he will be able to watch the rugby match without disturbing anyone else - though he may have to forego a pint of Smithwicks with it.

Mum is still settled but is increasingly concerned about Dad. I will see her tomorrow, Andrew was there today and Jacq will see her Sunday. We are grateful to all those who have taken the time to go to seen her, it helps her feel less cut off.

Thank you for your continuing thoughts and prayers.

Thursday

Well I think we are in a bit of a settling down period when hopefully we will have a little bit of an opportunity to regroup and catch our breath.

Dad has trouble swallowing again so the stent will be put in asap. He is upset by the fact that he cannot eat or drink though he is on IV fluids. I think it will help him enormously if the proceedure to put the stent in is successful. I hope that this will be achieved tomorrow. We have heard no more about the transfer to Blackrock Clinic but I hope that this will go ahead soon.

Mum is said to be in very good form, though I know she would rather be at home. Jacq saw her today while I went to see Dad. It makes sense to pace ourselves. Andrew came down from Ballina today and will see both of them before he heads home.

I hope that anyone reading this feels free to text or ring. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers

Results

Yesterday we had the opportunity to get results and interpretation of those results from a couple of consultants. Firstly it was really no surprise to discover that the cancer has spread. There are secondaries.

Dad is to have a stent put in by gastroscope over the next couple of days - this will allow him to eat so he can keep himself built up. Chemotherapy will start on Monday if all goes according to plan. He will have a week of this and then a break. No one is talking of cure, just discomfort relief.

Needless to say, though we have been anticipating the news not being the most positive, this will still take getting used to. We are distraught that our wonderful Father is in this position and has to go through this.

Mum is settled in Rathdrum and is in reasonable form. We need to ensure her future care and comfort also and will begin looking into those issues now.

Tuesday

Hard to believe we are only a week plus one day from the bombshell. Dad had CT scan today and we are to meet the Dr tomorrow afternoon for the results. We hopefully then can move forward

The Eagles Have Landed

At 8 a.m. this morning Dad was admitted as promised to St Vincents Hospital. With the help of two of the most wonderful carers, I got Mum ready and drove her to Rathdrum Community Hospital where she will be in respite care until the end of Feb at least. She was quiet but resigned. The staff, having been informed about the reason of her admission have promised to take special care of her and though it will never be the same as her being cared for at home we will not look too far into the immediate future.

Dad saw the consultant and it would appear that surgery is still not on the cards but a CAT scan is. Still no biopsy results or PET scan results. We have started the next phase of the investigation.

I am away at the clergy conference at Athlone as nothing much will happen over the next 48 hours. We await a more accurate picture.