All seemed to go well with the actual treatment. Mom said he slept most of the afternoon and we aren’t sure if it was because of the Keytruda or the cough medicine which has codeine in it.
When I came inside around 6, he had gotten up for a few minutes. He was extremely weak and was using canes just to walk from the hallway back to his recliner. Was complaining about how tired he was even though he’d slept all afternoon. I noticed he was breathing fast, initially thought it was just because of the fatigue and exertion from trying to walk.
Around 8 pm Friday night, he was having trouble breathing but refused to admit it. He refused to go to the ER but did at least agree to go to the Step in Clinic (kinda like an urgent care) on Saturday morning. By 10 pm, his respiration was well over 40. Mom and I both agreed that he really needed to go to the ER. He was still being stubborn and said it was a waste of time and money to go. He was pissed caused he was still denying anything was wrong. His respiration was over 50 at this point. Since Dad is a First Responder, I asked him what he would do if he was on a call and had a 73-year old male with a respiration over 50? While struggling to breathe and talk, he said, “Put him on oxygen.” I said, “What if you didn’t have any with you?” He admitted that he would have an ambulance called for that patient to get them to the hospital and on oxygen. I then told him that he had two choices - go to the ER in an ambulance or in his Yukon. He hollered, “Don’t you call no damn ambulance!” I replied, “Then get your ass up and get in the truck because you’re going to the ER!”
We arrived at the ER around 11 pm Friday night and he bitched at everyone that it was a waste of time for him to be there because he wasn’t having trouble breathing and he just wanted to sleep. When they triaged him, his respiration was still over 40 and his oxygen saturation was at 92. The nurse asked him if he felt he was breathing fast and he crossed his arms and said, “No!” When she told him his O2 Sat number, he deflated a little and admitted that was a bit low.
He had blood drawn and an IV started in case they needed to give fluids. A respiratory tech came in and gave him a breathing treatment, which helped a little. By the time they came in to listen to him again, his temperature was at 100.6F. He was way more grouchy than normal and continued to fuss that he was fine and didn’t need to be there.
The doctor listened to his chest and scheduled him for a chest CT with contrast. Results came back as pneumonia in the left lower lobe so the doctor started admission paperwork. By this point, his O2 sats were in the mid-80s. He was then put on oxygen to help him breathe better. Since I knew he was being admitted, I headed home to get a few hours of sleep.
I texted Mom around 8:30 am to see if they were awake before I headed back with some things they needed. She said they were still in the ER because there were no beds available upstairs yet. (Well, it is flu season so I really wasn’t too surprised. Dad’s nurse was able to find an empty bed in a hallway and snagged it so Dad could have a bit bigger bed. His feet had been hanging off the one in the ER. They left the other bed in the room and Mom was able to rest on it. I asked her if she had gotten any sleep. She stated she’d gotten about an hour of sleep because Dad “gurgled” most of the night.
They asked me to pick up some breakfast for them and bring a few things from the house. When I got back to the ER, the nurse was bringing in some medicine for him. Apparently, the bloodwork they took showed a rise in an enzyme in his heart that had them concerned so they called in a cardiology consult. We spoke to the PA for the cardiologist about 11 this morning. She said they don’t believe it is an issue with his heart like a heart attack or anything. They think it is just the extra stress on the heart from the pneumonia and the cancer treatment.
His sugar is still high (300) and his chest is hurting, but he still has his sense of humor and is still joking with the staff. He’s just been assigned a room so he’ll be going upstairs within the hour. He has another breathing treatment at 1pm.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and thoughts.
Angel
Andy at his best. Sending prayers
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