This is another private post about my father-in-law (FIL) and his health.

This is another private post about my father-in-law (FIL) and his health.

Monday, FIL fell and laid in the floor for two and half hours until his brother-in-law found him.  They called a local relative and it took four people to get him up.  He said he didn't feel like he needed to see the doctor and went for a nap.  After he woke up he was no longer able to walk.  The relatives all convinced him that he needed to go to the hospital, so he did.

At the hospital they did CT scans on him.  We already knew about his lung cancer, but they saw something on his rib on the same side.  At first they thought it was a fracture from falling, but it turned out to be cancer on his rib which wasn't there a few weeks ago when he had his initial scan done.

FIL has remained hospitalized all week.  He's on an IV with nutrition in it (I'm sure there is a name for it, but I don't know what it is) to try to get his strength up (he hadn't been eating much due to nausea and vomiting).  He was supposed to have a PET scan done on Wednesday to diagnose what stage cancer he has so that treatment (if possible) could begin, but the hospital said it would be cheaper for him to have it done as outpatient, so it hasn't been done.  Note:  We waited 2 weeks to get that appointment and it didn't happen.  I don't know if it was the hospital or FIL who refused to do the scan, but regardless, it didn't happen.

He's been at the hospital all week.  His brother-in-law and sister were staying with him (taking turns since only one person is allowed), but something (I'm not sure what) happened with his brother-in-law yesterday and they decided they had to go.

Note:  Shaun works night shift right now, from 2 am to 7 am (work is slow right now).  I dropped him off at the hospital at 10 yesterday morning and he's been there now over 24 hours alone with his dad.  He had a Soylent (400 calorie shake) yesterday morning and hasn't eaten since (he doesn't feel safe removing his mask).  He's slept only a few minutes at a time.  He's been masked for 24 hours and his ears hurt.  He is miserable.  But his dad called us yesterday morning, sounding like he was at death's door and said that he needed Shaun.  So like a good son, he went.

They spoke to a social worker yesterday about his dad going to a nursing home rehab for three weeks to be able to walk again.  As far as I knew that was the plan.  But then a doctor came in and said that doing that would further delay his scan and possible treatment, so they are still there today, waiting to speak to another social worker.  The plan for the moment is that they are doing home health so that he can get his scan and treatment started, and THEN go to rehab.

That is all fine and good, but home health can only do so much so family is going to have to help FIL until he goes to rehab.  Unfortunately, Shaun is the only one who's strong enough to lift FIL to help him and to pick him up if he falls again, so it's looking to me like I might be without my husbang for a while.  I am sad.  I hate knowing that Shaun is unhappy.  He is a kind soul and will take care of his father, but this is extremely stressful for him and basically his worst fear realized.  And of course I am stressed to death, as well - because of course I am.

Anyway, that is what's up with that whole situation.  Nothing is going well and I feel like the hospital is trying to kill FIL by delaying his scans and by extension his treatment.  It's been about a month since the biopsy was done to confirm it was cancer.  For fuck's sake, FIL is 81 and already in rough shape.  It seems like doing things in a timely manner would be essential to helping him.  Or maybe COVID is impacting things and if that's the case, it's really bad timing to be getting cancer.  I don't know.  But this is an awful situation and we're all struggling.