Picc Line

E. was agreeable to trying a pain patch, so we placed the first one on him last night.  It's the lowest dose right now.  He wears it for three days and then he gets a new one.  The idea is that it takes the edge off the pain and keeps him a little more comfortable.  He can still take his other pain meds for any "break through" pain.  If this level of pain meds is not adequate, they can increase the dosage of both the pain patch and the other meds as well.  I'm not sure if the pain is getting more intense or if E. is getting sick of everyone nagging him, but he seems more open to pain relief these days.  I'm not sure why, but nausea has hit hard the last couple of days.  He's gotten sick both yesterday and today.  Since he hasn't been eating, that means he's throwing up bile.  And since the last throwing up episode wound up in a bloody mess, I stand over his shoulder and watch him like a hawk.  Thankfully, there's been no blood.

E.'s very unstable on his feet these days and moving anywhere is slow and tedious.  I have to remember to plan double the time I think we need.  We managed to get from the house to the car with his walker, but it used up every ounce of energy he had.  By the time we got to the hospital, we had to resort to a wheelchair.  Other than the 45 minute delay at Radiology, the procedure to get the picc line only took a few minutes and we were headed home again.  With E.'s veins as weak as they are, I think the picc line will save him a lot of pain and agony.  It will be nice not to have to watch people stick him over and over again or dig around trying to get a good stick.

E. seems a little confused from time to time.  It may be the medication, or the dehydration, or the pain meds, or the cancer, or the lack of nutrition, or any combination of the above.  Sometimes I have no idea what he is talking about.  Sometimes when I figure it out, I have to laugh because it has nothing to do with what is going on right now.  But sometimes he's got it all together and I'm the one that doesn't have a clue.  What a pair we are.

So tonight, I have him all tucked in to his hospital bed, right next to the "big bed."  I have the rails up on the sides so he can't make any crazy escapes in the night.  Hoping for a good night's sleep for all of us.