My 82 year old Father had crash after first chemo

anantven

Friends:

 

My 82-year old father had a crash after his first chemo. He was diagnosed with T-Cell PTCELL- NOS.

 

Exactly a week after the chemo, he suffered a medical crash. He got hypoxic and had to be put on a ventilator. His liver and kidneys are also impacted. He also experienced encephalopathy.

 

It has been exactly 15 days after his crash and here is the summary of the situation.

 

1. He is still on ventilator. They are trying to wean him off but they are successful on some days and not on others in trial.

2. His liver numbers are rebounding and last 3 - 4 days have been very good.

3. His blood numbers have rebounded and are on the positive trajectory.

4. He is on dialysis as his kidneys suffered acute renal shock and acute renal failure.

5. His next chemo was due on March 29th but we were told he could not tolerate chemo in this condition.

6. He is responding well when called out to do things and cannot speak as he has the tube but he has suffered some encephalopathy. We dont know what is causing it but he snaps in and out.

7. His BP is soft at times.

 

So, here are my questions. So far PoGuy has answered a few of my questions and I am very grateful to him for the same.

 

q1. What could be done to get a patient like this faster to recover ? Drugs, Food ? any special nutrients ? Vitamins ?

q2. We are least worried about kidneys but are very concerned about getting his tube out so we can bring him home soon.

q3. Do any of you have any examples or ideas around q1 or q2 above ?

q4. Bottomline - we want to bring him out of the hospital.

q5. Then there is the 2000 lb gorilla in the room - Does anyone know what might happen if the second chemo is delayed ? 

 

 

 

po18guy

Hugs and kisses are the best medicine

I hesitate to say this, but at some point the body simply begins shutting down. It is virtually always an irreversible process. Your father is staring at a mountain of serious difficulties. There are times when the human will, the best medical science, and hopes and prayers cannot reverse what may be the natural end of life. One can only prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

Evarista

Kidneys

I don't think that we can answer your questions, because our answers may be completely wrong for your father's current state.  Seems to me that what happens next will come down to whether his kidneys rebound.  Kidneys can and do shut down after traumatic interventions; a major surgery on a healthy person can result in temporary kidney shutdown.  But they can come back. So follow his doctor's instructions.  Good luck to all of you.