Guest guest Posted April 28, 2012 Report Share Posted April 28, 2012 Let me say right from the beginning, my heart goes out to you and your family. I am certainly not well versed on the subject, since I am the one facing it, not a caregiver. I do believe the caregivers are unsung heroes though!! Away over here on the very west coast of Canada, we have a Hospice Society. They are a group of wonderful human beings, that will walk us all the way through the stages and right to the end. I have had a few appointments so that everything can be in place when I do begin to get sick. I know that the society will work with families, as well as the patient. If Glasgow has such a society, I definitely recommend contacting them, even for a little counseling. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no general timeline to the end. I would swear on a stack of bibles, that I was the sleepiest person you'd ever meet, especially while I was on treatment for Hep C. Truly, I loved my bed, staying in it and so does my dog and cat. I know longer have Hep C; but, I'm afraid that it left my liver with the worst of it's following issues. Due to the cirrhosis, I now have liver cancer! Although I have no problem with the fact that this is terminal, I truly do not want to go through what your Dad is. I just pray that he is not feeling any pain. My Spiritual Creator will have the final word about any of it. But, that Creator has seen fit to give me 8 months now, with no discomfort. I am extraordinary blessed!! The agreement that I have with my Dr, is that she will ensure that I have enough drugs to be in la la land, during the worst. I can not understand anyone in the health profession, that could or would stand by, while that patient suffered, because they are concerned about addiction. Now, who cares if I get addicted to morphine? A little too late at that point. Most of us here in North American, kindly refer to the mental deterioration as hepatic encephalopathy.  I really do think that's kinder than putting any emphasis on the person's drinking. It really doesn't matter if one were suffering because of alcohol or any of the other list of conditions that cause this most horrible cancer. I try very hard not to think about the possibility of going through all that your father is now. My parents are still alive and I only had one child. It's too hard to picture what they feel and will for a long time. I truly hope that your Dad's suffering will soon come to an end! For his sake as well as the family. By the way, my maternal grandmother came from Glasgow, bless her little ish attitude. My grandfather was from Northern England; but, they met and married here in Canada. Then to round out my British heritage, my Dad and his parents came from Wales. The only thing missing, was the Irish, although most people believed my red hair was Irish. Not. I have to laugh somewhat. I likely have more of British background than a lot of Brits do. Gloria ________________________________ Can anyone help? I live in Glasgow in the United Kingdom. My dad was in hospital the last 3 weeks as he had an " infection " . My dad has drank best part of 25 years, and has had cirrhosis a long time. Last weekend the hospital said there was nothing they can do. We have brought him home and we have a hospital bed in the house. The nurse comes out every morning to dress his legs and we have carers come out 4 times a day. We know he has a decompensated liver. His symptoms are as follows: Jaundice Ascites Odema - his legs are that swollen that blisters form at the slightest pressure and they burst, sometimes clear fluid, sometimes blood. Sleepiness - sleeps most of the day Urine - he has a catheter in and his urine is really dark and not a lot of it, also he has high white blood cells and some red blood cells in his urine. He is that weak that he cannot feed himself. He also has korsakoff disease and was getting confused about 3-4 days ago but has seemed ok since he has been home, although his speech is a bit muffled and hard to understand. Has anyone else looked after anyone like this? Me, my mum and sister aare trying to get a realistic time of how long he has left like this. If anyone has any information I would appreciate it. If not thanks for reading Lorraine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 1, 2012 Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 First let me say that i am terribly sorry for your situation. My husband also had this terrible disease. Alot of his confusion could be from hepatic encephalopathy. The symptoms he is presenting reminds me of my husband. i suggest that you spend as much time showing and telling your dad how much you love him. Try to see if there is a chance for a liver transplant evaluation. it sounds like he is on we call hospice, which is end of life care. I am not going to sugar coat anything, nor do i want to put fear into you. i want you to know MY experience. and that is all. When my husband got to that point, he was at the end of his life. he kept him on pain medication so he did not have to suffer. we made certain he was comfortable in every way. I allowed him to eat and drink what he asked for, because at that point there was nothing it was going to do to harm him, even his hospice workers said it was fine. In MY experience, he had a spurt of amazing energy for about 5 days, before he slipped into a deep sleep which he did not wake up from. Again i am not trying to say anything other than my experience with my husband. Kim > > Can anyone help? > I live in Glasgow in the United Kingdom. My dad was in hospital the last 3 weeks as he had an " infection " . > My dad has drank best part of 25 years, and has had cirrhosis a long time. Last weekend the hospital said there was nothing they can do. We have brought him home and we have a hospital bed in the house. The nurse comes out every morning to dress his legs and we have carers come out 4 times a day. We know he has a decompensated liver. His symptoms are as follows: > Jaundice > Ascites > Odema - his legs are that swollen that blisters form at the slightest pressure and they burst, sometimes clear fluid, sometimes blood. > Sleepiness - sleeps most of the day > Urine - he has a catheter in and his urine is really dark and not a lot of it, also he has high white blood cells and some red blood cells in his urine. > He is that weak that he cannot feed himself. > He also has korsakoff disease and was getting confused about 3-4 days ago but has seemed ok since he has been home, although his speech is a bit muffled and hard to understand. > Has anyone else looked after anyone like this? Me, my mum and sister aare trying to get a realistic time of how long he has left like this. > If anyone has any information I would appreciate it. If not thanks for reading > > Lorraine > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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