Port Placement - Success

On Tuesday morning bright and early we trekked to CMC Main, or what Carl is now calling our second home. The car actually drove itself I think. We were blessed to have Topher going to VBS with Laurie and her kids, and Katie spent the day with the Kellers (Thanks Terri and kids!!). It is so much easier to relax when I know my children are well cared for and happy. 


When we arrived, like always, everyone took such good care of me. I was escorted to my little room, got changed, had my blood work done, and then the moment of truth: IV time. Now, I had asked my nurse if Carl could be in the room, and he said that he preferred to place the IV then bring family, so I started praying that he would get it on the first stick. I haven't had an IV on the first stick since Katie's birth, and I knew my veins were still tired from my hospital stay, but I was really hopeful. I just started praying, and my nurse Jason explained everything he was doing, including using a smaller than usual needle and placing the IV in my "elbow pit" (the inside part of your elbow, a horrible place to have an IV, but an easier stick especially for short procedures when not using a pump). 


Here's the miracle: I didn't feel anything at all. He made it on the first stick. My vein didn't blow. When he was done, he backed up, threw his hands in the air, and said, "Thank you, Jesus!" I immediately said the same, and told him that there were about 50 women praying for him that morning that he would get that IV on the first stick! He was amazed and said that when he looked at my arms he didn't see it happening but with my history he didn't want to have to keep sticking me. 


He sent for Carl, and we had a wonderful talk about MOPS and what I do for MOPS and how his wife was involved several years back when their children were little. I felt like I had an angel in the room with me, and everything from that point on was almost enjoyable, as pre-op questioning goes. 


The procedure went very well. Apparently after they gave me the Xanax I was a bit obsessed with telling them to place the port inside of where my tan line was so that my bra wouldn't hit the port. The surgeon was laughing when he came back to check on me in post-op and said that the whole way through the procedure I kept asking if it was clearly inside my tan line and telling him that I have sensory issues and didn't want my bra to touch the port. Oh, boy. He said they laughed every time I said it, and thankfully, everything is fine and  the port clears any straps I might want to wear. 


The pain was a bit more than I expected. However I also have a severe ear infection on that same side and the drainage is coming down the same side of my neck as the port so it all came together, Also, I had a bit of a reaction to the adhesive, so once I took the bandage off, I did feel much better. I am still taking it easy 3 days afterwards, but I did take the kids to the pool wearing a t-shirt to keep everything covered today. There is also some not so pretty bruising, but that will clear up I'm sure. I am quite anemic, so I bruise very easily.


Thanks for your continued prayers. Obviously I am still coming down with infections, so I am looking forward to starting my infusions next week. 

Nesting and Cuddling

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will wake my children, snuggle them a bit, and then drop them off and different friends' houses before my sweet man takes me to CMC Main to have my port procedure. On days before I have surgery, we get all cuddly around here, and we nest. This morning I woke up when Carl got up to go work out, and couldn't stop coughing. When I couldn't fall asleep, I read a little, watched some TV, and waited until it was time to wake Topher to send him off to VBS with one of my best friends. I got him up about 10 minutes early so he could come cuddle in bed with me. We snuggled and talked about all the crazy things going on this week, and he was off to get dressed.


5 minutes later Katie woke up and crawled into bed with me. She curled up in the nice warm spot he left, and we did the same thing. They both wanted to know the specifics of everything. Where were they going each day, what was I having done again, who is bringing dinner (Kids wanna' eat. Like every day!), what could they do to help get ready today? 


After we started the day by burning popcorn and simultaneously melting the thingie that you put on top of the food in the microwave so it doesn't splatter (I thought I turned the BACK burner on to melt the butter, NOT the FRONT burner!!), then cleaning it all up, we got moving.


We did 6 loads of laundry. Katie and I went to the chiropractor and returned a few things to the craft store, then picked up my prescriptions so I wouldn't have to send anyone out later this week to get them. Then we came home and she went to a friend and Topher came home and cuddled some more.


I love that I am able to assure them that I will be ok. They asked questions, and I answered them as best I could. I am getting a Bard Power Port, a purple port that will go into a vein in my neck and sit in my chest. Yes, it's PURPLE!! Too bad you won't see it. 

"The Bard"

Please keep me and my family in your prayers tomorrow. I am nervous, but I have a peace about this. I know that Katie is anxious, and Carl is my rock, but he will be at the hospital with me and it's never easy when your spouse is in surgery. I'm just thankful that Topher is so busy this week. 

New Jewelry

When you have a port in your chest, you need to make sure that people know about it. Not like I need to announce it wherever I go (unless you hug me too hard, then I might yip like a poodle), but ICE. In Case of Emergency. 


I have had a MedicAlert bracelet for almost 15 years. Because of medication I am on, my random medication allergies, and the fact that I am blind in my right eye and sometimes it does it's own thing. When we got married Carl got me a very pretty 14K gold ID bracelet, and we attached part of his Figaro Chain to it to make it pretty. I have worn that on my arm every day of my life, except for when they make me remove it for medical procedures. It goes right on after that. 


Well, with the port, I need a new one that says that I have a Power Port. I have also developed some new medicine allergies, as well as my fun new Immune Deficiency that needs to be on there. The 14K wasn't in the budget, but I did end up with this two tone stainless steel number: 

What I like about it is that it has enough gold tone that I can take it and have my gold Figaro Chain added back onto it with the lobster clasp. 


If you ever need a medical ID bracelet, I HIGHLY recommend MedicAlert. They keep track of all your medical issues, medications, surgeries, and there is a 24-7 number that is on the bracelet that a medical provider or EMT can call to get your whole history in case of emergency. Can't wait to get my new jewelry!

A Different Kind of Port

Before I became a Mama, I was a young 20-something fresh out of college with a degree in hand and the owner of a brand new student loan. Being bi-lingual, I was approached by several companies while in college, and was even courted by AT&T to move to Peru for a position. I just couldn't leave my family yet, so I stayed here, and after a few months of jobs that paid the bills, I started my REAL job at Maersk Line in New Jersey. I spent my days talking about things like tariffs, commodities, and PORTS. I did that for a little over 7 years, during which time I met my sweet man at work, got married, and moved from New Jersey to Charleston.


Carl still works at Maersk, so we throw the term "Port" around a lot. We even lived in a "Port Town" before we moved inland. The word "Port" has taken on a whole new meaning in the past few days. After much prayer, and a very scary dream that included 6 different nurses with needles trying to find a viable vein on my arms, I spoke with my patient advocate today and it was decided that having a Port implanted before we start the infusions would be the most humane thing to do. 


I am so thankful that the doctor was on board with this, but she did see my arms last week when they still looked like pincushions. So next Tuesday morning (June 12th) bright and early at 7am Carl will be taking me to CMC Main to have my Medical Port implanted in my chest. It is a minor surgery, but I will be out of commission for at least 2 days as I heal, and I will actually be going back on Wednesday for my first infusion, Lord willing. It will take about 10 days for the site to completely heal, and I will need to take care of that area for a long time. 


But again, I have a peace about this. I have had a few friends tell me of their experiences, or their family member's experiences, and I know that this is the way I want to go. Now I just want Tuesday to come so that I can stop thinking about it!