Constant infections

[Patches]

On 2 January this year my husband almost died due to his blood pressure dropping extremely low due to infections.  Emergency department drs told us they battled to save his life.  They told us he had responded well to injections they had given him during the early hours but were still quite concerned for his health due to 3 different infection areas - chest, left leg and right side of groin.  He was found a beg in oncology ward where he received antibiotics from intravenous each 4 hours.  He was told by oncology dr during that weekend that his 4 chemo doses that he had received were too high and this had been partial cause of his infections.  We were told the infection in his leg was cellulitis.  He was discharged mid day on 6 January but still had lot of fluid in his leg with oral antibiotics. On 19 January he was admitted with cellulitis again. This time assistance was given to remove the fluid from his feet and legs.  On 24 January he was discharged and came home with more oral antibiotics.  This morning palliative care in community nurse visited our home and advised it appears the infection is starting again and has concerns his chemo could be cause for triggering off these infections each time.  Last time he was home for 2 weeks and appears that I may be having to take my husband to hospital emergency today or tomorrow- if this is the case he will have been home just over a week before being admitted to hospital again. 😢😢

[Patches]

My husband was admitted to hospital again last night due to infection.  I have hardly slept.  Dr in emergency has suggested we ‘reassess chemo and focus on quality of life’.  As dr last night agreed, we knew we would have bad periods f time but him having to be in hospital for up to a week each time and this having happened 3 times this year is too much.

[kj]

Very hard and sad time in both your lives difficult decision time now.Best wishes

[Patches]

My husband has decided to stop having chemo.  When I think of his quality of life recently I can’t be happier. As members of his family have said, he needs to be at home and doing things that make him happy

[Valday]

 Hi Patches,  you are having an anxious and trying time, and must be acting as brave as possible for your partner. If the chemo is causing the infections  then you will need to balance the life quality with the treatment. You haven't mentioned a cancer situation but I gather it's in the background. After my experiences with chemo for my 40 year old son, which shut down his surviving kidney after a cancerous one was removed, I found we just had to go with the path of least pain. My son's cancer went to the brain very quickly, and all I could do was make sure he felt comfortable, loved and reassured. The time your husband spends at home with you will be the special, memorable time for you both. Emergency departments are what we try to forget. I hope you will be able to stay at his side, and that the doctors treat you both with the respect you deserve. I found the community nurse very helpful - don't be afraid to ask for suggestions. Good luck dear.

[Iyana271]

When your loved one is coping up with this much pain and you can only watch him suffering, that is the hardest time ever. The best option is to be brave and support your husband mentally. I'd suggest you to keep consulting with the specialist for the best treatment options to avoid the infections again and again.

Btw how the things are going right now? Is there any improvement in the health of your husband or still having the infection. 

[Patches]

He appears at times to still have bit of chest infection but nurses in oncology ward are not worried, think it is made worse by stress and anxiety.  He has now been in hospital for 9 days are we are starting to see little bits of health improvement.  He has become extremely depressed this time in hospital and has lost interest in eating majority of the time.  His oncologist confirmed about a week ago that chemo isn’t working for him, he shouldn’t be suffering like he has been and that stopping chemo is best option for his general health.  Oncologist advised he fully believes my husband would not have survived many more chemo treatments.

[Patches]

My husband is stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was from time of diagnosis in October last year.