Penelope
Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2012
- Messages
- 23
- Reason
- Lost a loved one
- Diagnosis
- 08/2012
- Country
- AU
- State
- VIC
- City
- Melbourne
hello all
Coming in as I am frightened tonight.
Dad had been chugging along ok for quite awhile (2-3 years) he has bulbar onset but while his speech went long ago he was mostly ok until about 6 months ago his neck muscles weakened and in the last two months there has been a steady decline in his hands.
He has been peg fed for quite a long time and had nothing by mouth for a couple of months.
He gargles to try and trigger a cough which is not ideal but they did not want to put him on cough assist.
In the last week he had had a breathless episode or two. He went into hospital for monitoring and to give my mum some respite. He has been in a week the day he went in he had a breathless Ep and now today around noon as well. When Mum went in in the afternoon she noticed he had a temp they have put him on intravenous antibiotics and oxygen as well as 3 hourly morphine and oxygen. It was the first time I had seen him in hospital and with the mask he just looked so frail and sick it took all my strength not to lose it then and there.
The Dr has gone from saying the temp could be from a mucus plug or a bowel impact ion and now a chest infection.
I know chest infections are usually what gets MND sufferers in the end.
He is 82 but his heart is strong. He has only recently started having breathless episodes.
I don't know what I want to hear or even what I am asking but what are the chances of him surviving this infection? The Dr said he can give no guarantee of course but do patients at this stage ever fight off an infection or should I be preparing myself?
I am numb and cannot believe it is happening.
So sorry for the essay thank you for reading this far.
Coming in as I am frightened tonight.
Dad had been chugging along ok for quite awhile (2-3 years) he has bulbar onset but while his speech went long ago he was mostly ok until about 6 months ago his neck muscles weakened and in the last two months there has been a steady decline in his hands.
He has been peg fed for quite a long time and had nothing by mouth for a couple of months.
He gargles to try and trigger a cough which is not ideal but they did not want to put him on cough assist.
In the last week he had had a breathless episode or two. He went into hospital for monitoring and to give my mum some respite. He has been in a week the day he went in he had a breathless Ep and now today around noon as well. When Mum went in in the afternoon she noticed he had a temp they have put him on intravenous antibiotics and oxygen as well as 3 hourly morphine and oxygen. It was the first time I had seen him in hospital and with the mask he just looked so frail and sick it took all my strength not to lose it then and there.
The Dr has gone from saying the temp could be from a mucus plug or a bowel impact ion and now a chest infection.
I know chest infections are usually what gets MND sufferers in the end.
He is 82 but his heart is strong. He has only recently started having breathless episodes.
I don't know what I want to hear or even what I am asking but what are the chances of him surviving this infection? The Dr said he can give no guarantee of course but do patients at this stage ever fight off an infection or should I be preparing myself?
I am numb and cannot believe it is happening.
So sorry for the essay thank you for reading this far.