Confections For Cats

From Mat’s Journal 3-2-14 1 - 15  session legs elevated - urine after              1 - 15  session legs elevated - urine after

From Mathew’s Journal I am leaving out parts that were already covered in the notebook about signing the release for the biopsy slides and the plan outlined by Dr G. He had also made note of the case manager, the tech and his nurse. • Stent in liver maybe Monday not depend on stent inside. • Nothing Mon after midnight. • If can’t drain enough inside need to do from outside - like a catheter -not                            permanent. • Stay on blood thinner for safety. • Pain Dr come today  • trying to get me outpatient • small % of having to re-do biopsy   **** **** They were concerned that the biopsy taken at Zhills would not be sufficient. I told them that the IR Dr showed me the large chunk he took.  As it turned out, they didn’t need another biopsy. Later I called the IR Dr at Zhills and thanked him. If they had redone the biopsy when they had planned ...

This is still that first day, Saturday, March 1st, 2014. Mathew was very concerned about the amount of pain medication he was already on and becoming dependent on it and what will happen once he is no longer receiving treatment. FROM THE NOTEBOOK Dr G talked w/Mat about the difference between “dependence” and “addiction” and he cannot become addicted if used only to manage pain - they will wean him off slowly. “What happens next?” I ask. He tells me that they request the biopsy slides from Zhills Hospital and get them to their own lab. “What is the timeline for that?” He says they send the request on Monday and will probably receive them by Friday. My niece, Allison, had already told me that I can pick up the slides myself. So I offer to drive up Monday and hand deliver them. Mathew needs to sign a release and call up there to let them know I will be the one picking them up. Again, ‘crunching the timeline,' a day here, a few days there may not seem l...

Saturday Morning March first. A Dr. G **  comes in. He is the first doctor we have seen, so I look at him hoping he has some answers. The nurse at Zephyrhills Hospital told me that things happen 24/7 here at Moffitt. I hope so. Mathew’s Dad and Stepmom, Diane, are here.  The following is from The Notebook, thank you, Diane, for taking clear, legible and comprehensive notes. GAME PLAN ACCORDING TO DR. G: Sunday   1. -  Pain mgmt doctor will be here and set up pain mgmt plan.               2. -  Try elevating legs periodically to relieve swelling/fluid retention. Monday   1.  -  Gastroenterologist will look at doing the stent procedure to open bile duct.                       Could be  done late Mon or poss Tues. This  will  make him much more                    ...

I have a list of things I wish we had known or knew we needed when people asked how   they could help. This will be the first one. I know many people are diagnosed with cancer, start treatments and live a modified life, that somewhat resembles their normal life and routine. One of the things we learned and I had no idea though my sister and Mother had breast cancer and a family friend had throat cancer was that some types of cancer, this being one of them, are a series of scheduled medical procedures and doctors visits mixed in with emergency dashes to the hospital resulting in days inpatient, sometimes wondering if this was the end of the road. With that in mind. One of the caregiver tips I would recommend is get a bicycle basket, the kind you attach to handlebars. The kind that can attach with a simple over the bar hook.  This is for the IV pole.  Every time Mathew went to go to the restroom, he needed the IV unplugged (often quickly) and most tim...

From Mat’s journal 3-1-14 They transfer me to Moffitt -  the promise land, in the middle of the night. I’m sufficiently medicated, its comfortable. When I get there my nurse is hard of hearing, their faces are not warm. They say I cannot move around good enough to go to the bathroom on my own since I must use a walker. I warn people about the danger of liquid on my lungs. They asked me the last time I pooped. “48 hours” Liquid diet breakfast served -apple juice -8 oz vegetable broth regular jello- coffee -sugar No pain meds yet. My View We arrived at Moffitt just after midnight. The ambulance parked in front in order to unload Mathew. I had to park in the parking garage and race back to the main entrance. The last time I had been at Moffitt was back in the 90’s when my sister Elizabeth received a bone marrow transplant. And there we were. On the fifth floor, 5 south, in a large room and suddenly I felt so alone. The admitting docto...

This will need to be a placeholder post until I can find list of medications. I will reference back to this post when it has been completed. List of Medications (probably incomplete) He most likely wasn't taking all of the pain or anxiety meds at one time. alprazolam restoril zofran morphine neofer tramadol colace I will list the different doctors involved in Mathew's care. First of all was our Primary Doctor A Gastroenterologist An Oncologist A Pulmonologist  The Interventional Radiologist who performed the biopsy My niece doing her oncology fellowship. Then, of course, there were the nurses, lab personnel, and Case Manager If I have forgotten anyone let me know.

List of Procedures From Saturday 2-22-14 to Friday 2-28-14 while in Zephyrhills Hospital 2-22  CT Scan with contrast of abdomen and pelvis 2-24  MRI abdomen and Cholangiography Pancreatic 2-24 Ultrasound of testicles (some cancers start here) 2-25 Needle Biopsy 2-27 12:53  Xray of Chest Portable Machine 2-27 16:44 CT Angiogram Chest 2-28 Greyscale view of chest for guidance for Thoracentesis 2-28 Xray chest And theplacement of the PICC line. Peripherally Inserted Cetral Catheter. This one had three tails so was called a triple lumen.