Postby Val*pal » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:58 pm
I'm sure every case is different, but my husband's liver started showing some signs of failure about 3-4 weeks before he passed. The oncologist simply said that his liver function appeared to be off a bit, and we didn't ask any other questions. Within 5 days from that last oncologist appointment, my husband started in-home hospice. At first he was able to get about the house a bit, though the effort exhausted him. Stair climbing immediately became too taxing. Soon he was only able to walk to the bathroom, and that was with a lot of assistance. Then, about 7-10 days later, he really couldn't move on his own any more without falling, and he began to sleep more. About 4 days before he died, the hospice nurse noted that his skin and eyes were yellowing, though I honestly couldn't really detect it. He never experienced any hallucinations or disorientation until the last few hours and those hallucinations may or may not have been from the high doses of morphine he was administered. His urine became more and more concentrated about 5 days before he passed, and I knew that meant his kidneys were shutting down. For his last two weeks, he ate almost nothing, but he did try to drink some Ensure now and then. Sometimes he just wanted to chew a bit of food to "taste" it, then he'd have to spit it out. He kept up his water intake, which was good, but I doubt he took in more than 30 ounces a day. Amazingly, he kept in good spirits. I do recall that five days before he passed, he told me one night that he suddenly felt "different". I asked him what he meant, but he said it was too hard to describe. I've always wondered what he meant. He did experience vision problems in the last 10 days.
As many other caregivers have noted, my husband's death came much more quickly than I anticipated. Though I knew he only had a few more days, he died quite unexpectedly - at least I found it unexpected. Happily, he experienced almost no pain. His discomfort in his last hours was due to unrelenting vomiting of a black substance, but the morphine eventually stopped that. Essentially, he just eased out very quietly and peacefully. One of the nurses commented that his was one of the most peaceful passings she had witnessed.
You and your husband are in my thoughts.
DH dx'ed May '11, age 62
Jul '11: resection Stage IV
10/11: 6 mo Folfox
8/12:thyr canc, surg/tx
2/13: peri mets
2/13: Firi/Avas
6/13: Ok
8/13: break
10/13: Lung, peri, mets
10/13: Firi/Erb
1/14: Erb Fail; spread
5/14: Tx stopped
6/20/14: At rest