I wrote about a month ago about my mom, just thought I would post an update with the hopes that some one may have some advice or feed back. My mom has gotten progressively worse. She went to the hospital to have the fluid drained from her abdomen, the doctor was unable to find the right spot and sent her home. The next day I phoned the hospital and they advised I get her back there as they feared they may have nicked her bowel with the needle. They admitted her, put her on IV (she was very dehydrated) and anti-biotics. My mom was continually vomitting bile. They kept her for a few days. She had her first dose of Chemo last Tuesday, her feet swelled up so badly she wasn't able to wear her shoes and she was having difficulty walking. They sent her home Wednesday. For the first two days she was able to get up and down the stairs, with a lot of difficulty, but still able to none the less. By the third day she could barely walk, was unable to get off the couch and needed assistance in getting up to use the washroom. We had to get a commode for her since her bath room is in the basement. On day 4 she felt she needed to get her abdomen drained again. She hadn't eatten since day 2, and she did nothing but sleep and throw up bile since her return from the hospital. I called an ambulance to take her in, since she had no strength in her legs to walk. The doctor admitted her immediatley, stating she should never have been released in the first place. The doctor advised us that she had a blocked bowel, but felt that surgery would only make her uncomfortable, and that they likely couldn't fix the blockage anyway. They did more x-rays, and tried many different meds. Nothing has brought the swelling down in her legs and feet. The fluid in her lower abdomen seems to have slowed or stopped, but the upper abdomen remains the same. She is vomitting bile, and is on a clear fluid diet. They finally agreed to send her to Winnipeg as they said that she doesn't seem to be getting any better with anything they have tried. The Dr. figured that her problems (swelling, vomitting bile) were not a result of the chemo, but of under lying problems. My mom is getting discouraged and has refused any further chemo treatments at this point.
Has anyone else out there seen these kind of complications, if so, what was done?