Hi there,
My 82 year old Dad had been on and off poorly for a few months. On the 28th December last year he eventually went to the doctors who insisted he went straight to A and E. I took him straight there and whilst he was there he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. A CT scan was carried out to check for blood clots on the lung. No clots were found but instead enlarged lymph nodes on his lungs and an enlarged spleen. A few weeks later another CT scan was carried out and a few days later a consultant called with the terrible news that he has enlarged lymph nodes in stomach and bowel and also a thickening of the wall of the bowel and unexplained mass. He is too ill for the necessary colonoscopy which means he can't have treatment as the doctors don't know if it's his non Hodgkins lymphoma causing it or bowel cancer. We had the call on 18th January and since then Dad has rapidly deteriorated. He is not eating, has no energy, stays in bed 99.9% of the time and sleeps a lot. He says he wants to die. He has been prescribed steroids and morphine to help with the symptoms and pains. I am caring for him and my 80 year old mother (who my Dad used to look after). They have too much in savings for social services to help. What kind of care could be provided by private company? Can Marie Curie or Macmillan help? I've spoken to various doctors, health assistants etc. I just want to do the best for them. I'm absolutely devastated yet it doesn't seem real, like I'm playing a part in some awful film.
Can anyone advise me how I can be strong and make sure I'm doing everything I possibly can xx
