Update & Correction: Zander is going home from hospital today!

Changing stories about Z's stay in hospital

Zander texted me at 6pm last night to say that they had just told him he could now go home. This was rather confusing for us all, in that we were told on Wednesday that he was staying in for three weeks. So what's going on? I spoke on the phone with his consultant geriatrician, Conor Maguire, and it seems that there has been a bit of a miscommunication/ misunderstanding.

Wednesday's story

I asked his oncologist, Dr Sorcia Campbell, how long should he stay in hospital? She said at least until at least his weight had stabilised and his general energy levels had improved. He should focus on getting more active etc and eating well, physiotherapists, dieticians, occupational therapists etc.

When I asked her what her plan was, she said "to keep Z in hospital for about another 3 weeks, then to spend a week at home, then to come back for another review appointment (4 week from now i.e. Wednesday 25th March)."

Friday's story

I spoke on the phone to Dr Conor Maguire, the consultant geriatrician and the man in charge of Z's stay in the Acute Assessment Unit in the hospital. He said that yesterday, Z had an assessment from a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist. They decided that he was able to go up and down stairs unassisted, and he was able to carry out basic daily activities unassisted, so yes, he could go home.

The misunderstanding

Dr Maguire seemed a bit frustrated that Dr Campbell had said that Z would be in hospital for another three weeks, since that is not her department or her decision, and she had apparently not been told that this was going to happen.

With hindsight, he agreed that it would have been better if he had had a conversation with Dr Campbell before our oncology consultation, or if Dr Campbell had said "I am really not sure how long he will stay in for - that's up to Dr Maguire's team to decide". She was right to say this: he would stay in "until his weight has stabilised", and indeed, his weight has stabalised (see below). 

The only misunderstanding was over how long his stay would be. 

I think it's better that he's going home, in any case.

Zander's weight

We all know that losing weight can be very significant with illnesses like cancer so it has been a big worry to hear reports like "Z has lost 6kg in the past couple of months" which is what someone at the hospital told Nadia. It seems that the truth is somewhat different and not so worrying.

Last July, Z weighed 66kg

He then lost weight before the treatment started, and during/after the treatment

In November, he weighed 63.9kg

When he was admitted to hospital last week, he weighed 60.2kg

This is a loss of 3.7kg, which is very different to "more than 5kg"

He was weighed today at 60.3kg, which means he has stabalised, or even gained a little.

His (and Nadia's) aim is to put some weight on before the next oncologist appointment in 4 weeks.

How do doctors weigh patients compared to vets?

It's easy for vets: their patients don't wear clothes
Z is weighed every time he visits the hospital, by standing on electronic scales, but he is always fully dressed and surely this must have some effect. Is he wearing a jacket? Carrying keys and a phone? Does he have a stuffed wallet in his breast pocket? All of these will have an effect and I think it means that we cannot trust reported weights as "absolute". But still, the general idea is correct and he does need to try hard to eat/drink plenty so that he puts on two or three kilos.