The ending days.. maybe

We had a few scare recently. Some time ago when my FIL was having a sponge bath, his oxygen level dropped to the 40's. This was the lowest we've seen so far. Normal oxygen level in a healthy person is 99, at 92 your cells starved of oxygen starts to die and can cause damage to internal organs. For that few days we finally accepted the fact that he might have less days than we anticipated. We got his bank accounts settled, he spoke about what he wants done to his house, I gave him a haircut and we bought him food he has been craving for. For a few days his oxygen level lingered in the 80's and dropping to the lowest of 40's and 50's. Slowly somehow it stopped dropping so low, remaining in the low 90's and only dropping to 60's when he exert himself slightly. When I mean exert himself slightly, I mean him peeing, coughing, eating, talking and even laughing. He cannot handle the simplest of activity.

Recently he is unable to sleep and is breathless almost 80% of the day. His weight dropped from a very low 41kg to 38kg. We had to employ a night nurse to care for him as it is getting too much for my mother in law who is unable to sleep as well. Mentally he is relatively sharp except that he has moments he seems spaced out and takes a long time to know we are talking to him. He has requested to be moved to a hospital thinking that it would be better for him. We will be meeting his doctor next week to talk about this. I tried reading up on others who had gone through or taken care of family members with IPF and it seems going to a hospital may not be a wise decision. Doctors at the later stage of IPF have nothing else to recommend and patient usually end up being neglected. Many choose to come home to die. This is a wonderful link if you want to hear some IPF stories and be encouraged that you are not alone. Click on People's stories on the left bar.

http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.uk/

Trying to convince my father in law to stay at home is going to be tough. Hopefully we can get a doctor to come and talk to him. We have asked a few and most rejected saying they have done what they can for him. Telling this to my FIL without hurting him is a big challenge. Let's see how the meeting go next week. Meanwhile, trying to stay positive for him.

my hate towards direct selling...

"I'm 100% sure this will help him.. This is an elixir (xian dan)!!" These are just some of the things people tell us. As of now, my mother in law has membership to most direct selling brands. There's vitamins, some new age clothing that is supposed to reverse any illness, chinese medication which came from some forest porcupine, home detergent stuff,  protein shakes and air purifier. I don't blame my mother in law who so easily believes them. That is what you become when you are desperate. Desperate to get hold of anything that might help. This is why I'm angry towards these so called friends. They pounce at this chance where they know you are desperate and will believe and try anything they say. They over promise and under deliver. They hardly talk to the patient or anyone else in the family for that matter, except the person who is paying. They do not even understand the sickness but they are trained to know what to say and make you part with your money. They are not health care professional but they claim they know better. They are professional salesman who undergoes training to sell ice cubes to the Eskimos. Let me say, most of them didn't work and some of them we can't see any positive effect or make no difference to what you can buy from your local market.

Steer clear of friends who say they want to come to your house and tell you about this new product that came on the market. If they don't know what is lung fibrosis and they are not health care professional then don't trust them. If they say they know, ask them who they know with lung fibrosis who got better after taking their elixir. If they are pushy, tell them you need to research it and ask your doctor. If they are truly friends,they will understand. Save the money to spend on healthy, nutritious organic food or even the occasional bak kut teh for the patient.

I never meant this blog to contain so much negativity but bear with me, it has become an outlet for me. There is no rainbow after the rain for us in this, just heavier rain and bigger storms coming ahead.