I have not been home and did not have computer access so was unable to give updates. Right now, the Respiratory specialist has kindly allowed me to update this blog.
I have had consultations with five doctors including the Respiratory specialist within the last few days. Dad has very little time left unless there is a miracle. The odd patient does rally.
He is suffering respiratory discomfort, which gives the sensation of drowning. He is going to be given low dosages of morphine to relieve this discomfort and take the edge off what is happening to his body.
He may have oral fluid or food if he wishes. The IV with the multi-vitamins and glucose will be continued, so he doesn't starve to death. He is not strictly NPO
Some medications will be discontinued and most that are continued will be administered through an IV. He will keep the
-nitroglyceral patch
-lasix for heart failure
-cream for fungus on his skin
-fluconazole for chest fungus and antibiotics to treat pneumonia
-CBI (continuous bladder irrigation) will be continued because if clot travels to bladder it is extremely painful
-blood pressure meds have been stopped as his bp is so low
-warfarin will be restarted to thin his blood. The heparin was discontinued last night due to bleeding from the mouth.
Last night I learned that his heart is enlarged by 30% from what it already was. The pneumonia on the right side is worse than the day before and he has a lot of free fluid in his chest.
His kidney function is at 50% which is not terrible
He has a breathing problem but he is not gasping for air, so this is considered to be moderate
The goal is to keep him comfortable. If he survives tonight he will be moved to palliative care, which is either in the hospital or in a separate building across the street.