Walking Toward the Light (Walking Beyond) by Karen Scarpulla

Author:Karen Scarpulla [Scarpulla, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Little White Dog Press
Published: 2013-11-25T00:00:00+00:00

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I spend the next day working from home so I can make sure Vince eats soft foods and consumes enough protein and calories. He is having a tremendous amount of chest pain, an unfortunate side effect of the stint. After insertion, the patient’s natural body temperature warms the coil and it expands in his esophagus. Vince is miserable and now feels constant pressure and pain.

He also has to sleep semi-prone so the acid from his stomach will not travel up his esophagus. The pain initially causes him to regret having the surgery. He had no idea that he would have so much discomfort. We are quickly learning that everything has a trade off. The upside is that he will be able to eat food normally, but he will have chronic discomfort in his chest.

The pain takes a toll on him. He is absolutely exhausted. He has been in bed all day and evening and has barely eaten. I beg him to drink a protein shake, but he refuses.

Our palliative care nurse comes by to check on Vince. She tries to convince him to take additional pain medication in the form of morphine. At this point, Vince is on a 75-milligram pain patch and takes some additional oral pain medication each afternoon. The nurse explains how important it is to break the cycle of distress so his body can rest. He assures her that he will take something when needed.

I have had the medication conversation with Vince on many occasions, but he refuses to listen. Even now that the hospice nurse is encouraging him to manage his pain, he still resists. I am irritated that he refuses to listen to people who only have his best interest in mind. If he remains in a constant state of discomfort, he compromises his immune system and becomes irritable and explosive.

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