Treatments are Kickin' Robert's Tail

February 26, 2007
Monday

We made it thru the weekend and could not have made it without the help of Sandi, my Dad and Michael. I can not even tell anyone how much help it was to have Sandi here, not only for nursing but for mental support for me. She got up Saturday and Sunday during the night to give Robert his breathing treatment, meds and fluids. With all the pampering Robert received from all of us, you would think he would be ready to take off on his 4 wheeler. Sandi, our Dad and I all went with Robert to treatment this morning; he had radiation treatment and was seeing the radiation doctor. I wanted Sandi to go in with the doctor and help me get a handle on Robert’s nutrition. Robert went back for radiation and the nurse came and got me and said Robert was very weak and they were going to hook him up to some fluids. Robert is still unable to swallow and it is very painful for him to speak. Robert has sores on his bottom lip now so they are going to cancel his chemo treatment this week to give his mouth some time to heal. We will continue chemo next week. We told the doctor about the trip to the ER this weekend and told him our insurance is not going to cover the supplements the nutritionist has prescribed for him, and there is no way we can pay for it out of pocket it is VERY expensive. Dr. Kurley said we could use Carnation Instant Breakfast, that Robert would get what he needed from that. We will see I am not convinced. Robert lost 14 lbs. in one week. He is down to 195 now. After we saw the doctor we walked over to the chemo room to get the IV for fluids, Robert had to go to the bathroom, which was about 10 feet from the recliner, I went and got Sandi to set with him while I battled the insurance company on the nutrition and the cost of the new nausea medicine they have prescribed for Robert which is also very expensive even with our co-pay. Can you tell I am not real happy with our insurance company, they are a bunch a crooks. When Robert was in the bathroom he passed out, when Sandi got to him and got him back in the recliner his blood pressure was 80/60. The nurses got the IV started and got fluids in him. Sandi very reluctantly had to leave, she had to be at work at 3:00pm at the hospital, and she was only about 2 hours late. We are back home now and Robert is feeling better just very weak. We are trying to push more fluids to keep him hydrated; it is a thin line what Robert can tolerate and how much he needs to stay hydrated. We are optimistic that Robert will gain some strength soon.