Stroke and Pancreatic Cancer Combined

So, here I am sat with one of our carers who is helping wash etc. And the carer's husband has, very sadly, had an accident in London where he hit his head - and has ended up in a head injury and stroke ward. Just like my partner did. And the carer mentioned a charity called Headway ... Apparently, they offer physiotherapy at a discounted rate. And can help with securing addition financial help. I do wish we'd been told about this 5 months ago. So. I hope this helps someone. https://www.headway.org.uk/

First off, everybody's journey is different. And that's the problem. Our experience is that this is the standard answer for "everything". We had no "this might happen" or "look out for these symptoms" or "Here's what to do when X happens". Nothing. No pre-emptive information "just incase it causes distress". Well, I'll tell you what causes more distress - spending days on end worrying and not knowing and trying to figure out what the hell is going on and who to call and what do to. So (and I am sure I will say it again and again) but the system and the journey is broken. Very broken. I can only give you what happened to us. But, I suspect it's pretty typical. This could be a long long article. Apologies in advance. Pre-Symptoms Catching Pancreatic Cancer early Forget it. 99% chance is you haven't. It sits there for years (10... 15+ years) growing really slowly. And then boom! It explodes. There is no good prognos...

So, as the illness progresses, you're going to need pain relief... I'll do a post on "the lies" (or half-truths) you get told along the way. The Doctor's paranoia at scaring people and 'causing distress' means they don't tell you the truth. We were told that "some people don't experience any pain with Pancreatic Cancer". Untrue. Most do. And it's mostly VERY bad pain too. So you'll need morphine... or oxycodone ... or tramadol ... or even fentanyl ... But we had Morphine so that's what this quick article will be about. Basically, you have 2 types of morphine - Quick Release and Slow Release. It's all the same stuff - just packaged differently so it gets to your nervous system in different times and, for us, also had different drowsyness effects. Offical info/link to answer: How long does it take for morpine to work? Acute/Fast Acting Morphine This is "Oramorph". You get a syringe with it. You usually take 2.5ml (...

Main headings in this article: The Stroke Why I hesitated? (Not all strokes look like stroke) Stay in your NHS area. The Stroke Alison was a bit off. A bit "weird".... She was looking at me funny.  She's been ill a lot. She's quite weak already. But this was ummmm odd. We sat for a while. I was exhausted. I kept micro-nodding off. I'd ask, "What's up?", "How are you feeling now?" In the end it dawned on me that this wasn't going to stop. And it was serious.  "I'll call 111", I said. And then Alison mumbled, "No...999". I went into shit-my-pants mode. I'd never called 999 before. "Seriously?" I was thinking. "For real?" Luckily, I did as I was asked.... Why did I hesitate? Why did we wait so long? So, first off, it turns out that when someone has a stroke, it doesn't look anything as obvious as how they show on the TV. Alison's face didn't 'droop'... it kinda 'numbed...

My first blog on this topic. "Coping with someone that has had a stroke from pancreatic cancer." And helping others not have such a dreadful time of it. Damn, I wish I'd diarized everything from Day 1. Why why why didn't I start writing as soon as it happened? Now it's all a big blur.  But there is so much I want to say and get off my chest and, most of all, help other people (like you?) who are having an end of life experience like us.  No one should go through this!!! It's hell. Is it a blog??? Mmmm maybe. More of a rant probably. Or maybe just a way to brain dump thoughts that might help others. Maybe it's just a big blob of headtrash I need to spew or I'll go raving mad. I didn't have a stroke. My partner did. I don't have Pancreatic Cancer (well, not that I know of). My partner did (does... for now) The cancer causes the strokes. Who knew!? I am here. On this day, some 5 months in, and I am so badly smashed and bruised and wrenched and wre...