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April 6 - the whole timeline

 Dec 3-10 - Mom and Dad went on an all inclusive trip to Mexico. Mazatlan. They had a blast. Everyone was feeling great.


Dec 25 - Dad has really bad cramps in his stomach and stayed home from Christmas Dinner at Tyler’s. 


January- mom and dad were supposed to go to Mexico for 6 weeks leaving Jan 29 

Dad had been struggling with cramping , neck pain and back pain and had been going to a chiropractor every day . 

He also was losing a lot of weight, not eating much due to the cramps. They decided not to go to Mexico. 


Feb 7 - Dad got in for his first full abdominal CT scan to see what exactly was going on 


Feb 8 - first thing in the morning we got the call from the UofA surgeon that let us know the terrible news no one wants to hear. 

It’s pancreatic cancer. It has spread to almost all his other organs. And it’s already deemed inoperable. 


Feb 10 - we got told the Cross Cancer institute appointment was booked for March 24 . That seemed impossibly far away. 


The pain management to this point had been pretty hard to get right. 


Feb 16- liver biopsy to determine more specific data on the cancer . 


Feb 18 - Dads right leg become increasingly more and more swollen. Very concerning . 


Feb 21 - finally convinced him to get his leg looked at. Discovered a blood clot the length of most of his long leg. Starting at the  groin down past the knee. He was started on blood thinner immediately. Twice a day. 


Still not eating much, losing weight. And now vomiting . Morphine doses kept increasing every few days with seemingly no gain in effectiveness. 


March 2 - results of the biopsy. 

Adenocarcinoma, pancreas primary 


March 17 - took him to the GreyNuns emergency room. Pain and vomiting unbearable. Admitted to the hospital 


March 18 - paracentesis - a procedure to remove excess fluid in the abdomen. Went well. They removed just shy of 2L from behind his lungs. He felt way better. Also started him on injections of morphine which were way more Effective than the oral pills 

Drs think the oral meds were not absorbing well. 


March 20-21 they tried to adjust meds back to oral Morphine with no success. 


March 22 - back to injections for pain. 


March 24 - discharged from the Greynuns to head to the 9 am. Cross cancer appt. Confirmed that he is too advanced for any treatment options. No Chemo.

Came home after appt. 


March 26-30 home care came to the house a few times to ensure comfort and help with meds: 


March 31 - added Scott to a wait list for hospice . Got new drugs. Steroid added and IV fluid at night 


April 1. Scott felt so much better with the steroid and fluid. A hospice bed in the city became available, but he declined at that time to see how the weekend went as he was feeling ok and preferred to be home. 


April 4 - into the Royal Alex hospital for another fluid drain from his chest. This procedure didn’t go as well. They took 2 attempts and it took a long time. Drained another 1.6L 

WestView in stony plain called and they have a hospice bed. This is great news as he’s very close to home. 


April 5- after lunch. Moved him to hospice . 

The staff is amazing and the room is lovely. 

Big room with lots of windows and space for the family. 


April 6 - he’s having a very low day. Scott is sleeping with only short moments of being awake. He is becoming increasingly confused and his Vision is starting to fail.  He is very weak and needs assistance to sit up, or lay back down. 

The nurses have just arrived to do another drain of his chest. 


April 7 - lots of visitors. We got him outside in a wheelchair for some fresh air. He had a busy day and was very exhausted by bedtime 

They have increased his anxiety meds as he was getting restless and feeling panic. 


April 8- he has been asleep all day. The disease is progressing quickly. He could hear us and could tell by facial expression that he understood 


April 9 - we read him all the lovely comments and posts about him. We could see tears as he listened. We were all there , holding his hand . 

Told him he was free to go in peace , we love him and he didn’t have to suffer anymore 

He died peacefully at 1:43pm . 



We are here with him . Spending all the precious moments we can. Burt is here protecting his Poppa. 


Visitors are welcome at anytime . He would be happy to see anyone ,  but he won’t be able to visit for long periods . If you want to come, please do. 






Comments

  1. NolaApril 6, 2022 at 12:54 PM

    It's very helpful to hear what is going on. I'm so glad your family is strong and will be there for each other. Loving you all tremendously from the coast. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chantelle Svensen-LewisApril 6, 2022 at 3:55 PM

    Sending you much love and support. Thinking of you all often. Hugs, Sean & Chantelle

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 6, 2022 at 4:43 PM

    Hugs to all of you❤

    ReplyDelete

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