quiet days with david

Hi everyone,

Another update...

David is fairly stable these days, and by that I guess I mean - he is on a slow and steady decline. He has lost incredible amounts of weight, which means the large tumour sticks out of his stomach quite significantly - yes, looks about six months pregnant! :( He is very, very weak and rarely leaves his bed these days. He mostly sleeps but can rally for a chat when he is up to it. Still has his good humour in those good moments, but he is finding it harder to be as social as its very draining for him. He sometimes gets overwhelmed with the nausea and dry wretches which is pretty traumatic for his body to handle. He is still eating pretty well, though not a lot - as much as we can get into him (the nourishing meals provided by the church and his family entice him to eat! so grateful for them!). He is topping up his nutrition with 'protein drinks' provided by the Palliative Care Team, giving him extra calories. The Palliative care nurses and doctor visit pretty much every day or second day and have been an incredible support and resource.

For the last couple of weeks, David has been having pain and nausea meds via syringe through the butterfly clip/port in his arm. Yesterday he moved to the 'next stage' which is called a 'driver'. This is a small box (size of a DVD or so) which holds all the nausea/pain medications, and they slowly and constantly feed into his arm through a tube and the same butterfly clip. Again, this is an improvement on managing things, means the medications are constant and slow release and also means Mum in particular doesn't have to give quite so many medications every four hours. He still takes some tablets but the driver does most of the work now. This gets topped up by the nurses every 48 hours.

He may be going into hospice soon for a 'respite' week or so to help manage his pain and nausea better... when a bed becomes available and depending on how he is doing at the time. We shall see, but just a heads up that this is now on the horizon.

Catherine and David are very encouraged and appreciative of all the lovely visits, cards and messages. As the care for David becomes more intense, and his capacity weakens, they are having to 'cordon off' more time to just rest together and have some quiet time and space. But during the 'open windows', visits and contact are welcomed and do wonders for their spirits :) If you want to get in touch, best way is to contact me (first preference) or Catherine (second preference) to arrange a time that is suitable. We are trying to space out visits a little more just so it doesn't get too overwhelming or tiring for David. So grateful for everyone's sensitivity and support in this area as I know all of us love David so much and just want to enjoy every moment with him possible!


As always, thank you all for your love, prayers, practical support and all the rest. We remain so very grateful.

xx Kate

the 'coffee club' - David has always met up with this group of guys from church on Thursday mornings for coffee and chats. Now they come to him :) Rod, Brian, David R and Paul - all such a great blessing to David!

Anne visited from Melbourne last weekend. David got to enjoy a lovely footrub and moisturizing :) Soaking up the spa treatment, thanks Annie x