Today, my wife and I both visited Derek again and are happy to report that he is a lot better than yesterday. He's back on controlled doses of morphine - which proves that he really was showing withdrawal symptoms. While I stayed for about an hour, my wife spent an additional two with him. They went to the hospital's retaurant patio - and had a good discussion about things (big bands,various kinds of music, the inventors of overdubbing and multi-channel recording, Les Paul and Mary Ford, etc...) totally unrelated to Derek's fight with the cancer. It was Derek's first time in the open since his hospital stay began.
Derek is now going to follow a regimen of gradual morphine withdrawal, with lower and lower doses stretched over longer and longer periods. This should go on for about a week. Most of this is likely to happen at his home - we'll provide whatever needed support we can help with. This includes looking after our grandsdaughters - not a chore in any case; we love having them at our place.
Things are looking up again.
4 comments:
Hi Karl,
We've been following the last couple of days with some worry ... we are so so glad to hear that the problems were so easily fixed and that Derek is back on track. We've been thinking of you and Hilkka very much too and can only imagine what the both of you have been going through. Thank God you, Hilkka and Airdrie and the girls are so close ... how lucky you all are. Please give Derek our love and also, please give Hilkka a big hug and kiss from us both (same to you as well Karl :)
Terry & John
xxxxx
Hooray for good pain management, and for good plans to avoid addiction to medication!
Thanks again :)
It is a real relief - no more news about the diabetes, I guess that means everything is under control now.
My own husband is also experiencieng post-operation troubles : the transit refuses to start again, and everything kept going up instead of down. He vomited so much they had to put some tube in his nose with a vacuum cleaner. Really sexy thing, and really comfortable, as you should think. And he cannot drink or eat anything - but he doesn't feel like it anyway.
Today is day 3, and I hope he will be able to sit up or even stand up, because so far he has not been able to.
When I look at Derek's video on day 1, I am amazed : he could sit up, talk normally, think about his blog. I am a little jealous ! But then I start thinking about the morphine problem, and I am not jealous any more.
Anyway, doctors are great, and we do count on them very hard to give their daddies back to our kids... and their sons back to the grandparents !
My mother in law is elderly and far away, but with a very clear and acurate mind, and she really sufferts from being absent and useless.
Wonderful for you to do this blog, look after the girls, visit in hospital - being useful prevents you from going crazy !
All my thoughts.
Laurence
Hello, Laurence
We wish Jean-Hugues, and you, all the Best for his recovery. We know what you're going through. We also sympathize with your mother-in-law; it must be frustrating and upsetting to be unable to help one's son with his current needs. Please convey our best wishes to her as well, as one set of parents to another. We look forward to the day when you all have a joyful reunion - at home.
Derek just phoned to say that he is feeling pretty good, and that his withdrawal control plan seems to be working. If his doctors agree, he may be coming home today. As I've said before, there is still a long way to go, but this is a first step.
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