I took my father to the hospital yesterday afternoon because he was having severe stomach pain and was throwing up what looked to be blood. After doing x-rays, the physician told me it looked as though he would need surgery for a perforated bowel. I called my brother (who had taken my mother to get a blood transfusion for chemo-related anemia), and they came to the hospital as soon as they could. By the time they arrived, the surgeon had told me that according to the x-ray, my father already had gangrene in his abdomen and the chances of his survival were less than 10 percent. My father had been saying for some time that he didn't want surgery, he just wanted to go home. When my brother got there and talked to the doctor and surgeon, he made the decision to have an in-home hospice set up for my father. He talked to my dad about it, trying to make sure he understood everything. The surgeon thought that my dad would last a few days, but his organs shut down due to sepsis, and he passed away just before 11:00 that night.
My father was 80 years old and hadn't been in good health for a long time. He had chronic leukemia for roughly twenty years, had degenerative disks in his back that took him from 6' 1" to about 5' 6". He had diverticulosis and constantly had stomach pains and other related issues. Even with all these health problems, the perforated bowel was a sudden and totally unexpected diagnosis.
My therapist called today to ask how I was doing, and I told him what had happened. I also told him I want to try to make it to the group session on Friday. My mom's not going to like it, but I think I need to try to get back into a normal routine as soon as possible. I really think the sessions are helping me, so I don't want to miss any more than I absolutely have to.
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