Because I don't have much energy today:
- We admitted dad to the hospital last night at the request of his doc because he was dehydrated (has trouble swallowing) and his blood pressure was dangerously low.
- We mad the decision to send him in an ambulance vs. driving ourselves because people brought to the ER via ambulance are seen by a doctor immediately, instead of having to wait for hours. Such would have been the case last night because the ER was packed.
- It cost us over $400 to use the ambulance. It's probably not covered by Medicare. Expensive, yes. And while it wasn't a life-or-death immediate emergency, we wanted him to see a doctor and get started on fluids sooner rather than later.
- We got to the hospital around 9pm. We didn't leave until a little after 1am. Then I got up at 5am to get read for work.
- Hopefully, he won't be in the hospital more than a few days. Just long enough for them to pump him up with fluids and drugs so he can be comfortable at home.
- Speaking of comfort. We've decided to move to palliative care. It's not quite hospice in that we're not stopping his chemo. We're still fighting the cancer, however we'll get more support by way of medical equipment (hospital bed, wheelchair) and professional homecare (home visits by a nurse and doctor to administer chemo, do blood work, etc.). Thankfully, all of this is covered by Medicare.
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