We finally got to the end of the road with conventional treatment for my brother who had been diagnosed with metastasized colorectal cancer a couple of years ago. He had multiple surgeries and rounds of chemo, but they were not able to get on top of it. We will, however, be eternally grateful for those doctors and nurses who tried so hard for him during this time.
When the hospital told us that there was literally nothing more they could do to help us, we as a family had to sit down together and really try to come up with a plan of how we could possibly make his last few weeks or months with us at home as comfortable as we could.
He could not swallow solids or drink and was desperately weak but he was awake, so we knew that this was not going to be a pleasant or easy for a few weeks. As it is not part of hospital policy, they would not administer any drips for him and proceeded to discharge him. This is when we came across the at home IV infusion service with Wellbeing Medical Group. We contacted them and we were suggested by a skilled consultant an IV programme with hydration and nutritional support. We knew that there was nothing we could do to change the situation but to watch this unfold with no support would have been too much to bear.
Within a few days we had the most delightful nurse come to our house and he started his infusions. The nurse was there for the duration of each IV and this also brought us great comfort.
Although he did pass away shortly thereafter, we believe that his last two weeks with us were much much better than they would have been without this support. Having a nurse come in regularly who is happy to help and answer all your questions at a time like this was so valuable and we knew that Gareth was as comfortable as he could have even been.