At 11.30am today Peter was discharged from hospital. He was ambivalent about it as he was worried about how he would cope at home as he said he was barely coping in hospital. Anyway, we had the red hatchback filled to the roof with a shower chair, roller-walker, wool bed overlay and foam "bed wedge" as we headed home - all on loan from the hospital equipment centre which is free. We are having an electric recliner chair and wheelchair delivered next Thursday - again free on loan - and have the offer of an electric hospital bed if he wants one.
Shortly afterwards, the palliative care community nurse came and spent a couple of hours taking Peter's history and setting up the medications he will have to have. They will come in daily around noon to change his syringe-driver which delivers the hydro-morphine pain relief. So that will be good. His pain is now under control with the combination of the hydro-morphine and another pill (Mobic).
Unfortunately he is still painfully thin and is eating very little. I have carbohyrdrate and protein powder to add to things but it will take some time for him to improve I think. But I know he will enjoy the peace and quiet at home as the lady in the next room at the hospital had a constant stream of about 6 visitors all the time who were quite noisy.
He has spent the afternoon in bed but got up to eat a bowl of chicken broth (with carbohydrate powder) and is back there again now. The challenge will be to not only get him to eat each day but to take the medications he requires each day as he is prone to refusing or adjusting some of the things that he should be taking.
I will write again in a few days.
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