So many questions unanswered

[Sandy L]

I am looking for answers. If anyone has undergone induction therapy, I want to know if they were in a sterile environment? Were there any precautions taken to fight infection before it started? If you had a fever when was the antibiotic administered and how long did the fever last.
They said Mike had pneumenia but he was so strong, why did it get him so fast? The doctor told me that he was in a lot of pain and that Mike told her that we wanted morphine if he was in pain. I asked if it would slow down his breathing and she said it would but very little. (I saw that his breathing was labored, but he did not look like he was in that much pain.) I do not think that I am being foolish, I think they did something wrong.

Can someone share their experience with me? If you want to send me a private e-mail, instead of a post please do – sandylutzker@yahoo.com.

In NJ with my daughter and grandchildren. Leaving Sunday for Florida and dreading going home, My MIL is in the hospital. SHe fell and the hospice people wanted to make sure that she did not break her arm. This just happened and I will know more tomorrow. I tried to change my flight but she assured me she was fine and they are keeping her there till Monday.

Thank you

[SimonChai]

Hi, Sandy. I had induction chemo last January. I was not in a sterile environment. I was at the University of WA Hospital in Seattle–not allowed to leave the building but allowed visitors. I didn’t have a fever during induction chemo and I’m not aware of any special precautions against infections…

[willie]

Sandy My wife had the same experience at UofW as Ms. Chaitowitz. She did not have an infection issue until her whites got so low when the MDS turned to AML. This was 4-5 months after the initial remission. Willie

[lynette]

Sandy,
I sent you an email
Lynette

[Jimbob]

Sandy,
I am sadden to hear of your loss. None of us were expecting that. I tried to keep up on postings but have had a tough time responding since around Thanksgiving. I have been fighting respiritory infection and was constantly “on the cusp of pneumonia”. I seem to have finally gotten past it. Two years ago I was hospitalized for about 5 days at a time three times for pneumonia and did not want to go through that again. Just before that I was in the hospital for a temperature spike and dehydration. My roommate was in for the 5th time with pneumonia. They had two tubes in his chest with medication going in one and fluids out the other. He was in extreme pain even though they had him on high dose of morphine. He kept asking for more and ended up with an overdose. It took almost 2 days to bring him back. I refused any morphine even when the pain was almost unbearable because I did not want to risk the same thing happening to me.
But back to you, I pray that God will give you the strength to see you and your family through the grieving and let you remember the good times you shared with Mike without getting you down too much.
Jim

[patti]

Sandy,

I wanted to answer your email before we left town yesterday morning but I just couldn’t squeeze it in. I’m hoping this will be a little bit of help understanding what Mike went through.

My niece (my little sister’s daughter) got adrenal cancer when she was two. From there she got four other cancers. By the time she was 11 she had AML and MDS has a result of all of her other treatments. When they decided to stop doing tranfusions they took her home and cared for her until she died. My sister is a nurse and her husband a doctor. So they both knew about morphine, pain, etc.

My little sister described to me how painful it was for Jessica when her white cells were so high they would clump in her joints and she would moan and cry in pain. They used the morphine at home to control her pain. When she died my sister said she was moaning and it seemed like she was pain. They didn’t know what else to do so gave her a normal dose of morphine. She died minutes later. Both her and her husband said they believe that last shot of morphine is what caused her to stop breathing. But they also said the reality is she probably only had hours left anyway if that’s all if took to stop her heart.

I do not know how Mike’s doctor could have known he was in pain unless she was close enough to know him very well. I would think that judgement would be reserved for the spouse to make. You know Mike. You know what he was like when he was in pain. Was he acting that way? You state that he wasn’t. I am also not sure that by law a doctor can take a patient’s statement without him putting it in writing. At that point, I believe decisions are legally supposed to go to the next of kin. So my understanding is that you should have been the one to ask them to give Mike the morphine. I do not believe it should have been the doctor’s call to do that. The best way to get that question answered is to talk to hospital administrators and ask them what their procedure/policy is regarding pain relief and who makes that decision.

Morphine does slow ones breathing and it can stop them from breathing as well. Would that have given Mike much more time? Only God knows the answer to that question. But I do know it’s a very hard call to make because my sister and her husband agonized over that last shot for a very long time before they came to terms with the fact that they did the best they could given what information they could get from Jessica at the time.

I’m sorry you are going through all of this now. To some extent I think we all question ourselves when we’re under circumstances like you were with Mike.

Take care and God bless,

patti

[JSRN]

Sandy,
I am new to the forum so wanted to express my sympathy on your loss.
Please let me assure you that as a nurse of 30 years, and still working on med-surg/oncology units, that it was probably appropriate to give your husband morphine. Morphine is used not only for pain but also to help a patient when they are having labored/difficulty breathing. Pneumonia can be a painful disease. It causes lung pain. Even if a patient can not express they are in pain, there are things we look for such as changes in vital signs, skin temperature/moisture and especially respiratory changes.
You have every right to question the doctors, and hospital if you have concerns over your husbands care. Contact them to put your mind at ease.
God Bless you.

[Author]

Posts