Surgery Tomorrow

Over all this was a pretty decent week for Calvin since I last updated his blog, up until yesterday. On April 10 we went to the cemetery and chose our double-wide plot, then went back to the funeral home and bought it. Wednesday morning, April 12, our social worker stopped by for a nice visit. Later Teelco, Jose, Fiaz and Art came by for lunch. They are some of Calvin's friends and co-workers from Thermo Fischer. Calvin enjoyed the pizzas they brought, as well as their visit. Then another former co-worker, Anthony, and his wife stopped by with an old laptop computer for Calvin. He enjoyed the short visit with them too. Calvin's nurse came by on Friday. That night Allison made it home from college for the weekend again. Our best friends from Hampton, Virgina brought her. They came over again Saturday for dinner and some Yahtzee and Apples to Apples. Calvin really wanted to join in but was too tired to make it out of his recliner. He slept through the game playing. They took Allison back to college on Sunday.

Calvin's nurse came by again Monday morning. She made arrangements for Calvin to be put on oxygen, to help his breathing and hopefully give him a little energy. His in-home unit and several portable tanks were delivered early that evening. So he is tethered to oxygen now. He seemed to be doing a little bit better Tuesday and Wednesday, but today he seems worse again.

On Tuesday Calvin's mother and brother arrived back from their trip to NJ. Calvin went out to the cemetery on Wednesday with them because he wanted them to see our plot. It was a lovely day and he enjoyed getting out.

This morning, Thursday, Calvin's mother and brother left here for their drive back to their homes in Arizona. Around noon today I called Hospice Care. Since Wednesday and continuing through today, Calvin has not been able to urinate. It's been almost nothing. Yesterday he told me to just wait a little, but today I would not. Calvin's nurse is off today and tomorrow, but another Hospice nurse came out and talked about his options. Do nothing, have urine continue to back up in his bladder and kidneys until it kills him in a few days. A Foley catheter is not an option since his prostate tumor is most likely causing this by closing off his ureter. There would be no way to get a Foley catheter in there. So, the final option, and the one Calvin has chosen is to get a super pubic catheter. He has a 9AM appointment tomorrow, Friday, April 20, with his urologist, then we will go over to the hospital for the outpatient procedure which is scheduled for noon. Hopefully all will go well and he will be back home in a few hours. We will know more tomorrow when we talk to Dr. Sech.