Please remember I have lots of holes in me and I'm still physically sore and my immunity is suppressed. If you see me, please don't try to touch me ANYWHERE. Thank you.
I went in on Tuesday (July 30) for minor surgery to have a port installed. Minor surgery is always a major production at the hospital. I did my usual 20 questions with the person that called me to confirm the appointment, and learned that although I was told my appointment was at 11, it's really at noon since I need to check in and do lab work first. I was told I'd be out in 2-3 hours and thought HA!. Fortunately I was alert enough to get the labs needed for chemo Thursday ready for pick up, and SL was amenable to an extra stop, so the blood work was done together. There was a LOT of overlap between the tests. One less needle stick, one less trip to the hospital.
I arrived at the hospital right at 11 AM thanks to SL, and was quickly paged using one of those restaurant style blinking light and vibrating pagers like they use at busy restaurants. I went through check in and was pleasantly surprised to be walked back to the labs by the person that checked me in. It's not that hard to find, but reassuring not to be wandering the hospital corridor searching for it. The blood test was quick, and back to the second waiting room. I sat there for 1:15 before being taken back to the outpatient area, same as for the biopsy back in January. I was given a gown and some warm blankets, and no nurse or doctor said anything to me for 45 minutes, though they were less than 20 feet away at the nurses station. It's now 2.5 hours since I got there. I went to the nurses station to see what was going on and was told they were just starting my paperwork. Here comes the 40 pages of forms.... They took a brief medical history (second time in this place, at least the 10th time at this hospital system....). The doctor came in and described the procedure to me. The nurse tells me I won't remember a thing about the procedure because of the Versed. I cry BS, I remember every minute of the biopsy with Versed. Another eternity goes by, and I'm finally off to the surgical room at 2:20 PM.
Here everything goes more smoothly, though I was surprised that my face was covered in a drape, I was allowed a view of the blood pressure machine. All those big screen TVs, none for me to watch. You probably don't know but I HATE to have my BP taken, the constriction and all annoys me. The machine reads my blood pressure three times (it's on a 5 minute cycle) and I tell the nurse the next time it starts I'm taking it off. The doctors not there, and we're just waiting. He said he needed a sample of my BP, I said calculate the mean and tell me what it is. He didn't, but he did pause the dratted machine. The doc arrives and the machine gets turned back on.
I'm surprised how physical the procedure is. I feel the pushing and pulling on my skin and neck, but no pain. Twenty-five minutes while we talk about tarantula hawks and other stuff, and I'm back to recover in the same waiting area. They hook me back up to a BP machine that runs every 15 minutes and give me a departure time of 4:20 PM. Good. I let my ride home know and change into my clothes. The nurse records the first BP that comes up, and off she goes. Someone else needs help more. No other data is recorded, and I talk to no one else. At 4:15 I remove the BP cuff, turn the machine off, and remove the other monitors. No one is here. A nurse notices and asks what my release time is. The alarm goes off on the phone, and I say "now". She laughs. Another nurse rolls me in a wheelchair up to the front door. DJ picks me up and drives me home. I remember less of the ride home than the surgery, but I know we talked birds.
I wake up a lot at night, every time I roll onto my right side. I must do that a lot because I woke up a lot. I felt like I'd been in a car accident on Wednesday, lots of pulled muscles and soreness but nothing too severe. Acetominophen helps but I have to keep it up all day. I get through a slow day at work and am happy to put my feet up at home. I'm grateful I don't have to drive an hour to give more blood for the chemo tests, yay!
Thursday morning I have less pain from the neck and shoulder. Chemo is at 9 AM but I have an invite to look for owls at 5 AM, so I'm already in the area and I check in early. I have to say that accessing the port is not painless, but certainly it's less painful than three blown veins and a successful stick. The new drug is not allowed to go into an IV, if it leaks it can burn and scar the tissue. Worst case scenario you can lose a limb. So it's seriously caustic. It's also at least 5 hours shorter time in the infusion office than the last drugs.
Here's hoping this one works. I sleep better Thursday night with some acid reflux into my mouth but it's not bad, wakes me up every time. And I can feel something (hard to say what) in my chest when I roll onto my right side. Off to go birding a little on Friday morning.
THANKS to SL and DJ for the rides! I am not allowed to drive home after the sedation, mild as it is. I may need rides to and from the hospital in the a month or two, and maybe the airport. If you can pick me up or drop me off, email me at live4birds@aol.com and I'll check your availability when and if it gets scheduled. Mostly I am (strongly) encouraged to do things for myself, but thanks everyone for the offers of support!
