It has definitely been a more upbeat day today. Yesterday, at around 1.30pm, I put TWO pain patches on Husband (1 being a replacement for an existing patch, and the second being a new patch). Basically that means the pain patch dose has been doubled. So, the second pain patch would only have come into affect at 1.30am today, so he did have to continue the morphine last night, but the question was.... would he still need any morphine today, AFTER the 2nd pain patch had kicked in?
And, the answer is - so far, NO!!! NOT A SINGLE DROP.
And, to add to the cheerful and upbeat nature of the day, the Neurontin (For the nerve pain in the arm) has finally built up sufficiently in his system to start taking affect. Today he has been able to get up and sit for his meals WITHOUT being in absolute agony because of his arm :-D.
The hospice doctor also visited today - came by at 11.30am and spent an hour with us. After which he was definitely of the opinion that if we can get the pain completely under control then Husband could have a very good quality of life indeed. In addition, he is going to get a physiotherapist to come see Husband, to get him to start exercising (YIPPEE!!), and he gave me a prescription for something that should bring down the hallucinations that Husband has (pharmacies don't sell this particular drug, but I might be able to get it from a hospital pharmacy).
My sister and her boys turned up just before 1pm, with lunch for us all... and then sis drove me to UMSC to pick up the DVD and report from the CT Scan that Husband had yesterday. They had told me to come any time after 1pm, and I was there at 2pm, and, GUESS WHAT - the DVD and the report were NOT there! Nobody knew where it was, nobody knew anything about it... and, MAN, I was SO pissed off I HIT THE ROOF - told them that if they cannot get me the report then give me back my money - they were the ones who told me to come, and they can't even tell me where the DVD and the report ARE!! There was only ONE person (a lady by the name of Zarina) who tried very hard to help me, calling up everywhere to pin point the location of the DVD and the report, and once she found it, she tried to get someone to pick it up and bring it over, and had absolutely NO success. I was FURIOUS!! Told them to deliver it to my house, and walked out. They JUST called me (9pm!!!) and told me they have the CD and asked if I want to go and collect it NOW! Phew.. the cheek of it all. Anyway, my sister will pick me up tomorrow, any time after 2pm, and take me back to UMSC to get the DVD and report.... And if you are wondering why I can't just drive myself there - it is because there is NO PARKING available, so it is easier if someone waits in the car, and I run in to get the stuff. Let's hope I have no reason to blow up tomorrow as well!
Anyway, from my blow-up session at UMSC, we rushed straight back home, as I was expecting two of our good friends to come for tea. That was a great session too - lots of food (which STILL isn't finished), and great company. As always, we laughed a lot, talked a lot, ate a lot, and now I am absolutely STUFFED to the eyeballs :-p. Husband was actually feeling strong enough to get out of bed and come and lie down on the sofa to join us, which was nice, for a change!
Eleen left this evening. Went for a quick dinner, and then she hopped off back to SG. She should be back again in 3 weeks, but is more likely to stay in a hotel next time as she is actually coming back for a work-related workshop and will take the opportunity to continue house hunting. I think she has pretty much decided to look for somewhere in Mont'Kiara - as it is definitely a nice place to stay :-D.
So folks, all your prayers for the pain to be controlled may finally be showing results. Please don't stop though, as you can never tell what is going to happen, so just keep the prayers going that the pain will continue to be under control, and that Ken will get stronger and get back some of his quality of life.
Till next time everyone, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
CT Scan "sort of" done.
Today has been a so-so kind of day. Not tooooo bad, and not tooooo great either. No puking - which is good (!) - but then Husband was not able to actually eat much either, since he had to fast from 10.30am onwards, for the CT Scan that he had to do this afternoon. I asked them why he had to fast - since the scan was for the upper (cervical) spine and the left arm, shoulder and armpit, NOT his stomach or intestines - but they just said he had to fast! So, OK, had breakfast at 8.30am, had some of his Ensure protein drink in between, and then, from 10.30am onwards, nothing. In some ways, having NOTHING in his stomach seems to be easier for him to handle :-(.
Around noon, my friend Eleen, from Singapore, had turned up at our place, as she is spending one night with us while she meets up with her real estate agent to look for places to stay in KL - as she is being transferred to KL to take over the customer care centre for her organisation. By 2.30pm my sister had turned up, to pick up Husband and myself, to go to UMSC for the CT Scan. She dropped us off by 3pm and then she went to run some errands while Husband and I went in for the scan. We did not have to wait for long (luckily). First they had to stick an IV port into one of his veins (crook of left elbow) then they took him into the scan room, and kicked me out .... sigh. Waited just outside the door, and after a while could hear lots of noise and voices in there, and next thing you know, they opened the door, pulled me in, and asked me if I had brought a spare t-shirt for him! Turns out that the tube carrying the contrast dye (which was supposed to go into Husband via the IV port) had leaked! The dye had leaked onto the platform that Husband was lying on, and got all over his back! I didn't have a spare t-shirt but we HAD brought along a wind-cheater type of jacket - so was able to get him out of the wet t-shirt and into the jacket. He REFUSED to try again, but luckily the radiologist said that they had got a fairly good scan, so that should be sufficient.
We could have waited 40 minutes for the image and the report, but there was no way that Husband could have sat for that long, so, since my sister was there already (having run all her errands), we decided we might as well go home so Husband can rest - and I will go back tomorrow to pick up the report and images (on DVD no less!).
The DVD is then to be handed to the hospice doctor when he visits so that they can try and identify WHERE the pain in the arm is originating from. In addition, our lovely pain management specialist, while on her way back to KL from her holiday, had also called the hospice doctor, and highlighted Husband's situation to him, and requested that he visit Husband asap to further evaluate the overall pain situation that Husband is in, to see what more can be done to alleviate the pain - especially since the pain in the lower back seems to be intensifying! At her recommendation, since the pain patch had to be changed today anyway, I put two of the pain patches on - though it will take 12 hours from time of application for the 2nd pain patch to kick in - which would bring us to around 2am on Wednesday. Let's hope the double patch WORKS.. because it is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE to see Husband suffering so much! :-(.
So, what else is happening? Well, Eleen will be with us tomorrow as well - more house hunting for her to do. I have to go pick up the CT Scan report at 1pm tomorrow. My sister and two of my very dear friends are coming for tea at 3.30pm. AND, last but not least, hopefully the hospice people will be here tomorrow evening too!
That's it for now. Please do continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers, that the pain can be managed and brought under control and he can start gaining some strength!
Until next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Around noon, my friend Eleen, from Singapore, had turned up at our place, as she is spending one night with us while she meets up with her real estate agent to look for places to stay in KL - as she is being transferred to KL to take over the customer care centre for her organisation. By 2.30pm my sister had turned up, to pick up Husband and myself, to go to UMSC for the CT Scan. She dropped us off by 3pm and then she went to run some errands while Husband and I went in for the scan. We did not have to wait for long (luckily). First they had to stick an IV port into one of his veins (crook of left elbow) then they took him into the scan room, and kicked me out .... sigh. Waited just outside the door, and after a while could hear lots of noise and voices in there, and next thing you know, they opened the door, pulled me in, and asked me if I had brought a spare t-shirt for him! Turns out that the tube carrying the contrast dye (which was supposed to go into Husband via the IV port) had leaked! The dye had leaked onto the platform that Husband was lying on, and got all over his back! I didn't have a spare t-shirt but we HAD brought along a wind-cheater type of jacket - so was able to get him out of the wet t-shirt and into the jacket. He REFUSED to try again, but luckily the radiologist said that they had got a fairly good scan, so that should be sufficient.
We could have waited 40 minutes for the image and the report, but there was no way that Husband could have sat for that long, so, since my sister was there already (having run all her errands), we decided we might as well go home so Husband can rest - and I will go back tomorrow to pick up the report and images (on DVD no less!).
The DVD is then to be handed to the hospice doctor when he visits so that they can try and identify WHERE the pain in the arm is originating from. In addition, our lovely pain management specialist, while on her way back to KL from her holiday, had also called the hospice doctor, and highlighted Husband's situation to him, and requested that he visit Husband asap to further evaluate the overall pain situation that Husband is in, to see what more can be done to alleviate the pain - especially since the pain in the lower back seems to be intensifying! At her recommendation, since the pain patch had to be changed today anyway, I put two of the pain patches on - though it will take 12 hours from time of application for the 2nd pain patch to kick in - which would bring us to around 2am on Wednesday. Let's hope the double patch WORKS.. because it is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE to see Husband suffering so much! :-(.
So, what else is happening? Well, Eleen will be with us tomorrow as well - more house hunting for her to do. I have to go pick up the CT Scan report at 1pm tomorrow. My sister and two of my very dear friends are coming for tea at 3.30pm. AND, last but not least, hopefully the hospice people will be here tomorrow evening too!
That's it for now. Please do continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers, that the pain can be managed and brought under control and he can start gaining some strength!
Until next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Monday, December 28, 2009
I HATE SEEING HUSBAND IN PAIN!! :-(
As of this afternoon the pain in Husband's back seems to be intensifying. Even with a 5ml dose of liquid morphine, the pain is stabbing! It is awful, truly truly awful, to see Husband suffering like this. He is tired, weak, totally has no appetite (though he WILL eat when I put something simple in front of him - like oats or rice porridge, cream of chicken soup, etc - nothing fancy, nothing strong tasting), has no energy to move around, takes all his energy just to have a shower!
Tomorrow I am taking him (with my sisters help) for a CT scan for the upper spine (cervical vertebrae), left arm, left shoulder, to see what is causing the problem of pain in the left arm. This is, of course, assuming he is strong enough to GO for the CT Scan in the first place.
Please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers. It is so so depressing to see him suffer like this.
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Tomorrow I am taking him (with my sisters help) for a CT scan for the upper spine (cervical vertebrae), left arm, left shoulder, to see what is causing the problem of pain in the left arm. This is, of course, assuming he is strong enough to GO for the CT Scan in the first place.
Please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers. It is so so depressing to see him suffer like this.
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Strange day #2
It has been, in a lot of ways, a very calm day. Husband has been able to eat a bit - oats porridge for breakfast, rice porridge for lunch, and oats porridge again for dinner. He did try to eat his usual boiled egg for 2nd breakfast, but today his taste buds decided that eggs taste horrible and he just could not eat it at all... so it ended up as me eating the egg instead!
My parents dropped the maid (her name is Sree) off with me this morning, and she did a lovely job of cleaning the house for me, and when she finished that, while waiting for my parents to come and pick her up, she got so bored she asked if it was OK to iron the clean clothes that were in my little ironing room! Not a lot (as I always iron each time the clothes are dry, as I don't like piling them up!), but I definitely appreciated her offer.
My parents turned up at 3.30pm, spent some time with Husband and me - with my Dad praying for Husband (after asking his permission!) and me. After which we left Husband to rest, while I got some tea and tid-bits on the table for my parents. We sat and chatted for a while, then they said their good-byes to both of us, and took Sree and headed home.
The pain patch is not working as well as it should on Husband, as he still has breakthrough pain practically every 4 to 5 hours, which means he needs extra meds to control the pain... so I have written to the pain management specialist to get her advice. The slow release morphine tablets worked a lot better BUT due to the gastro paresis was (1) taking a long time to get into the system after each dose and (2) was in constant danger of being puked up, which would have nullified the benefits of the pills! My brother had given me some new meds for Ken, something called Ganaton, which is to assist in the 'motility' of the stomach and help in digestion. So far, since starting it on Thursday night, Husband has only puked once... which is pretty good for a change. Maybe if the Ganaton really helps in digestion, then we may be able to switch back to the slow release pills. Will wait for the pain management doctor's advice - hopefully by tomorrow.
That's about it for now. Please continue to pray for Husband that the pain should be brought under control so he can start LIVING life again - so that he can, as the doctors keep saying, have some "quality of life", not this constant, unending pain and discomfort.
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
My parents dropped the maid (her name is Sree) off with me this morning, and she did a lovely job of cleaning the house for me, and when she finished that, while waiting for my parents to come and pick her up, she got so bored she asked if it was OK to iron the clean clothes that were in my little ironing room! Not a lot (as I always iron each time the clothes are dry, as I don't like piling them up!), but I definitely appreciated her offer.
My parents turned up at 3.30pm, spent some time with Husband and me - with my Dad praying for Husband (after asking his permission!) and me. After which we left Husband to rest, while I got some tea and tid-bits on the table for my parents. We sat and chatted for a while, then they said their good-byes to both of us, and took Sree and headed home.
The pain patch is not working as well as it should on Husband, as he still has breakthrough pain practically every 4 to 5 hours, which means he needs extra meds to control the pain... so I have written to the pain management specialist to get her advice. The slow release morphine tablets worked a lot better BUT due to the gastro paresis was (1) taking a long time to get into the system after each dose and (2) was in constant danger of being puked up, which would have nullified the benefits of the pills! My brother had given me some new meds for Ken, something called Ganaton, which is to assist in the 'motility' of the stomach and help in digestion. So far, since starting it on Thursday night, Husband has only puked once... which is pretty good for a change. Maybe if the Ganaton really helps in digestion, then we may be able to switch back to the slow release pills. Will wait for the pain management doctor's advice - hopefully by tomorrow.
That's about it for now. Please continue to pray for Husband that the pain should be brought under control so he can start LIVING life again - so that he can, as the doctors keep saying, have some "quality of life", not this constant, unending pain and discomfort.
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
It's been a weird day today
Started off pretty bad, as Husband just could not eat ANYTHING this morning. Subsisted on Ensure protein drink and a bit of water, and his meds, till about 3pm... at which time his gastric pains kicked in, so he had to eat something. Had rice porridge at 3pm, 5pm and again at 9.30pm!! And had oats porridge at 6pm. In between, had the Ensure too. So, I guess the day finished on a slightly better note than it started.
Had my bro and sis-in-law and the kids over for breakfast this morning. Peng and I did the breakfast prep, and the kids laid the table, made the toast and coffee, and did the washing up. Verra useful having grown up nieces and nephews to do the scut work :-). They went shopping after breakfast, and Peng went along with them. She was back by noon though, and soon after that two of my very good friends turned up - Rini and TT. We haven't met since Husband's birthday in June, so it was so good to be able to catch up with them. Ordered take-away North Indian food from Khaana Peena (Mont'Kiara Plaza), and just sat and yakked and ate too much! They were hoping to have the chance to say Hi to Husband, but he just wasn't up to it, so they had to make do with just me :-p.
This evening I had arranged to meet with some good friends for dinner at Souled Out - my favourite restaurant in Desa Sri Hartamas. It is "favourite" not just for its excellent food, but also because it is literally just across the road from where we live, so it is easy for me to get back home quickly in case of need. Was hoping Husband would be strong enough to join us, but he was not - so I went with Peng and we had Molly, Jon, Jodi and Koshu joining us. Efy and Sianny could not make it, as they could not get a cab from their place - which is not surprising given the heavy rain of earlier. Anyway, a good evening was had by all! Efy, Sianny, we will have to wait till you guys come back from Indonesia before we meet - so we shall see you NEXT YEAR :-D. Anyway, got back home by 9.30, just in time to give Husband his last round of rice porridge for the day, and dose him up on his meds. He is now sleeping.
Peng is going back home to SG tomorrow, and I am going to miss her, but her work (AND Tony!) are pulling her back to SG, and there is no fighting that double pull :-D.
Well folks, please please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers. He is still very weak, and he still has a lot of pain in his left arm. Please pray that the Neurontin will soon take effect and control the pain in his arm, so that he can start sitting up and moving around more, and gaining in strength!
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
Had my bro and sis-in-law and the kids over for breakfast this morning. Peng and I did the breakfast prep, and the kids laid the table, made the toast and coffee, and did the washing up. Verra useful having grown up nieces and nephews to do the scut work :-). They went shopping after breakfast, and Peng went along with them. She was back by noon though, and soon after that two of my very good friends turned up - Rini and TT. We haven't met since Husband's birthday in June, so it was so good to be able to catch up with them. Ordered take-away North Indian food from Khaana Peena (Mont'Kiara Plaza), and just sat and yakked and ate too much! They were hoping to have the chance to say Hi to Husband, but he just wasn't up to it, so they had to make do with just me :-p.
This evening I had arranged to meet with some good friends for dinner at Souled Out - my favourite restaurant in Desa Sri Hartamas. It is "favourite" not just for its excellent food, but also because it is literally just across the road from where we live, so it is easy for me to get back home quickly in case of need. Was hoping Husband would be strong enough to join us, but he was not - so I went with Peng and we had Molly, Jon, Jodi and Koshu joining us. Efy and Sianny could not make it, as they could not get a cab from their place - which is not surprising given the heavy rain of earlier. Anyway, a good evening was had by all! Efy, Sianny, we will have to wait till you guys come back from Indonesia before we meet - so we shall see you NEXT YEAR :-D. Anyway, got back home by 9.30, just in time to give Husband his last round of rice porridge for the day, and dose him up on his meds. He is now sleeping.
Peng is going back home to SG tomorrow, and I am going to miss her, but her work (AND Tony!) are pulling her back to SG, and there is no fighting that double pull :-D.
Well folks, please please continue to keep Husband in your thoughts and prayers. He is still very weak, and he still has a lot of pain in his left arm. Please pray that the Neurontin will soon take effect and control the pain in his arm, so that he can start sitting up and moving around more, and gaining in strength!
Till next time, stay safe, stay HEALTHY!
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