Posted 6/8/2015 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi
Just thought I would let you know that, sadly, my Dad passed away last Thursday, 4th June. We are all devastated.
I know I had been updating you on his health and the last time I was on I had mentioned that he was going to be having a blood transfusion. That was actually done on Thursday 14th of May, he was given 3 units of blood. The following day he started to complain of back pain. Over the weekend he didn't seem himself at all, he was very confused and tearful which was so unlike him. Dad was a computer consultant for some huge multi national companies, there is no doubt that the Xtandi and the pain killers caused some memory loss but this particular weekend he seemed so vulnerable, it was terrible for him and very upsetting to witness.
The Iain Rennie nurses visited on the Monday and Tuesday but by the Wednesday he couldn't walk without a frame due to the back pain, he seemed so frail. On Thursday 21st May, one week after the transfusion, he was admitted to hospital with suspected spinal cord compression. That evening, SCC was ruled out but they then thought he may have a pathological fracture due to the cancer within his bones. He was literally screaming in pain if he was moved an inch. He couldn't walk at all. On Friday 22nd May a fracture was ruled out but we were told that his whole pelvis was cancerous and that he only had days to weeks left. This came as a terrible shock, he had only given up work a few weeks previous and was up and about, walking and talking, generally ok until then.
He was moved to a hospice the next day where they told us that thought he had had a probably had a small stroke, the left side of his body was paralysed, his face drooped on the left side too. He could no longer move at all, dress, feed himself, toilet - totally bed bound. They started a high dose of steroids and gabapentin for nerve pain. He did pick up a bit on the Sun and Mon, was eating better than he had in months, and was blissfully unaware of his prognosis, he kept chatting about coming home and what we would need in place. On Tues 26th he asked the doctor in the hospice what was going on, and they had to tell him, from then it went downhill. I think he lost his sight but wouldn't admit it. He started to lose the 'thread of life', became very withdrawn, didn't really speak and was having great difficulty swallowing. On Fri 29th the nurses put a syringe driver in place so he could have his meds that way, he was asleep when they inserted it and didn't even flinch when the needle went in. Saturday 30th was the last time he was semi awake, and the last words he spoke. He went to sleep that day and never woke up.
Unfortunately by the Sunday night his lungs started to produce secretions and on Thursday morning, at 7.40am he passed away. He lay 6 days with no fluid, no food. He really did fight until the end. My mum and I stayed with him in the hospice for the whole 12 days, slept by his bed every night.
We're all still in shock, even though we had time to prepare. He was the loveliest Man, only 63 years old. He had been fighting the disease for 11 years and showed so much strength and courage, right up until the point he could no longer speak he swore he felt great.
His funeral is on 15th and I will be writing and reading his Eulogy.
Gone far too soon, forever in our hearts
Di x