Up a little more

Derek had a good, if tiring day. Many visitors, among them a couple of his band's members. He's getting more food by mouth, some broth, bouillon, decaf coffee, tea, Jell-O, etc. He's enjoying it all; we kept talking about the food he's going to eat once he is back to normal. In addition, he's still getting his intravenous sustenance. Derek's spirits are up; he also intends to watch the fireworks tonight. The view from his hospital floor will be excellent. So he's come up a little more; we're all happy about that.

Progress

Derek finally got off the nose tube. He also tried, and tolerated, some basic food. We went to the hospital cafeteria balcony, sat in the sun, and Derek had a little of the scone Hilkka had picked up. He said it tasted heavenly, he was ready to cry. Somewhat later, he also had a little bit of ice cream, and later still a cup of vegetable broth. He is still on the intravenous feeding. He felt best about having the nose tube removed, and it also cheered him up to be able to go for some oral food. Another thing he felt good about was that the removal of the nose tube allowed him to wash his face properly, and he "bathed" his nose for about ten minutes. He called that another "heavenly" experience. Oh, the little things in life.... Tomorrow, he expects to "eat" some more "easy" food (clear liquids). Hilkka intends to make him some chicken broth - without the chicken and the noodles.

Airdrie, Marina and Lauren visited at suppertime. They had been to Playland, and had a lot of stories to tell. It's funny how sunny weather cheers everybody up.

The tube man

Today, when we visited Derek, he was just having his first calories (food hooked up and fed intravenously) since he re-entered the hospital last week. The food is liquid, looks like milk, and will provide him with about 1700 calories per day. The rate at which it is dispensed is like drinking about 1/2 cup of this per hour. Derek is extremely glad to be getting some real food, finally. He also had a visit from Airdrie (we had Marina and Lauren at our place during that time), and also had a visit from his good friend Tod Maffin. Derek is hooked up to a number of tubes, all of which add something or other necessary for his well-being.

You can see some pictures of Derek here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiandpapa/sets/72157600975748237/

Again, I want to re-iterate, as does Derek, that the nurses and doctors at St Paul's hospital are doing an excellent job. He is getting attention all the time. Derek says that the nurses told him that he is a very good patient (he never complains), and that's one of the reasons for his wonderful treatment.

A dull day

We've all been a little down because of the weather (6 days of rain and drizzle), including Derek. His regimen continues as before (no food yet, only intravenous). Later during our visit we all perked up a bit because Derek is discharging less fluid from his stomach (mostly bile). It looks as though things are finally stabilizing. He'll get his food by feeding tube first, and then eventually start with liquid and the more solid food, as progress dictates. We had a good conversation about technical things, and he also watched a favourite show (mythbusters). His cousin Tarya also paid a visit, and Airdrie and Derek's daughters Marina and Lauren will also visit this evening. Derek is off morphine, with just a trace of side effects, which probably also contributed to his "down" feeling earlier in the day. Progress is being made.

A quiet day

Derek spent a quiet day today. He is having intravenous sugar and electrolytes, but no other food. Tomorrow he'll try some liquid food (he can sip water now and sucks on ice cubes). Derek also had the TV set connected. This is wonderful, he's taking an interest in normal things again. Airdrie has also brought him the Harry Potter book, and he's got a book by Steven Wozniak (of Apple fame) as well. At the time we visited, he had the room all to himself, the other patient (a man from England on a visit) has left. Derek says that he hardly needs the morphine any more; only small doses are being administered. We are hoping that he'll be able to tolerate the food, so that he can finally start to "fatten up".

Some good news

Airdrie phoned us last night to let us know that Derek's oncologist had phoned her. The pathology report says that Derek's removed cancerous colon tissue showed that all of the diseased tissue had been taken out, and nothing had been left behind. This is a good piece of news, and a big step forward in Derek's fight against the cancer. Of course, there is still a long way to go - more chemotherapy is yet to come, and there will also be another operation to "reconnect" his plumbing. We haven't talked to Derek today yet, but this is a great relief to him, no doubt, as it is for all of us.

Up again

We just returned from a visit with Derek at the hospital and are gratified to see him in good spirits. For the first time in months, he has no abdominal pains, and as a result, had a very good sleep last night. He's got a tube threaded through his nose to clear out his stomach, and he'll have NPO (no food by mouth). He'll be "fed" intravenously, in order to give his intestines a rest, and promote healing. His surgeon visited him while we were there, and asked about certain symptoms - as doctors are supposed to. He is the surgeon who removed the cancerous section of Derek's colon. The surgeon seemed satisfied with the answers Derek gave, and told him that he'd be in hospital over the weekend, at least. We are glad about that, because we could certainly not care for him as well as the staff at the hospital does. The consensus seems to be that there is some intestinal swelling, and that caused the problems with the inability to take food properly, and the pains that Derek has experienced post-operation. After all, this was serious surgery. You may have read the comments which Laurence in Paris (France) has left on the blog; her husband is going through very much the same problems, and Derek wishes him well (as we all do). When you are this closely involved with this insidious disease, you begin to understand what other people are going through.

It certainly is a rollercoaster.