Stage IV NSCLC with Leptomeningeal Metastases - 1264284

My 67 yr old father had a stroke in his sleep on 2/15/14 which left him with left sided weakness. While in the ER, they identified stage IV NSCLC that had metastasized to his stomach, thyroid, adrenal glands, and spine. He went to a nursing home for therapy on 3/11/14. On 3/26/14, he went back to the hospital with fluid in his lungs and extreme pain in his lower back. He was dx with CHF. MRI confirmed a 2.4 cm tumor at L4 consistent with leptomeningeal metastases (LM). While in the ER, they also discovered he had urinary retention, so a Foley catheter was inserted. Once the CHF stabilized, he underwent 10 rounds of radiation to his lumbar, and started showing positive response on day 3. He went back to the nursing facility with the Foley and continued rehab for the stroke. He finally started chemo (carbo/Alimta) on 4/22/14, over two months after being diagnosed. On 5/1/14, his bladder was bleeding so badly that the blood clots were clogging the catheter, and he had developed a fever. He went back to the hospital, and was dx with sepsis and a UTI. They started him on IV antibiotics and flushed his bladder to stop the bleeding. His platelets and WBC were dangerously low, most likely from the chemo treatment. They gave him platelets and meds to increase his white blood count, and he went back to the nursing home on 5/4/14. The therapy team at the nursing home decided that he wasn’t progressing and they could no longer bill Medicare for their services, which meant we would have to pay it ourselves. He developed another UTI and had to go to the ER on 6/4/14, so they kept him until 6/7/14. We moved him into my dining room and engaged hospice right away. I wanted to share this, because LM not only causes pain (in the back, neck and head), but it can cause other symptoms, such as paralysis/weakness of legs, urinary incontinence/retention, bowel incontinence, hearing loss, vision changes/loss, and problems swallowing. All of these things have affected my dad.