Poke Poke Jab Jab


This morning was my appointment at the thrombosis clinic.

You see, I have this big hunk of clotted blood having a big old party in my right Jugular. Like most parties, the cool dudes hang out in the kitchen, AKA, the Hickman line.

So, to prevent the party from getting any bigger, they are cutting off the beer supply with something slightly more funky and cooler sounding than Rat Poison (Warfarin) and way more sellable - Fragmin !

I get to shoot this stuff into my belly once a day, and sometime down the road I get to stop. Along the way the chances are good that a small hunk of this will NOT break off and kill me, or even worse make me speak like Jamie Oliver on the Food Network.

After speaking with the Blood Clot doctor today, they have switched me to a different vendor for the blood thinner so I can only have to take one shot a day. They also have a good old fashioned syringe instead of an extra funky super safety one that has a ricochet retracting needle.

Tomorrow I visit the dentist at the Cancer Agency to get a dental cleaning, and late in the afternoon I will be seeing my Primary Doctor, Dr. Neville, with the results of the last bone marrow biopsy, and the treatment plan going forward.

The Lumbar Puncture has been postponed for now due to the blood thinner, since there is a high risk of paralysis due to bleeding.

I am feeling pretty good, so that means Chemo will be staring again soon. I even did a full run of grocery shopping this evening - Yes, being able to do mundane chores is nice.

Comments

AJ and Dexter's Mom said…
Hopefully Richard will reply...
but, in the meantime, I think his answer would be that he wouldn't want to go through the Hickman Line procedure again. Otherwise, you've asked a very intriguing and valid question and I would also like to hear the answer.
7/21/2009 6:21 PM
Dude said…
Yes, that is correct.
Doing so would require slicing into my neck again, cutting open my jugular and cutting out the now grown in hickman line.

Then cutting me open at the exit port, cutting out the now grown in hickman line, and threading the whole thing out from under my flesh in one peace without breaking any off inside.

Then sewing me all back up, and as it seems, crossing their fingers.

Then, later when I need chemo (I get it for 6 days every 30), they would have to do it all over again.

So, a good question, but hopefully the scope of the Hickman line is now clear.

The WORST part of all this so far has been the Hickman line even though I fully appreciate having it there (instead of being a human pin cushion).
7/21/2009 9:30 PM
Dude said…
..and the speling and werd mistakes all all just for you and sOnja.
7/21/2009 9:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Someone's like me.

I was back in at the LBMT Thursday afternoon for blood work, hickman line flushing, and news. The good news is that there seems to be a very good chance that they have found a bone marrow match for me.  Dr. Bernard, who gave me the news, said a "95% chance" - mostly to give an out, as there are a lot of things that can go wrong still. I don't know how far along they are in the process with the donor but they are looking at starting the transplant in the next 2-3 weeks, early-mid October.  I will know more shortly after a yet to be scheduled meeting with Dr. Nevill. So, if you are one of the recent people who signed up for the registry, and have been magically called as a match, you might very well be my blood brother/sister so to speak - lol. The coming transplant scares the willies out of me as it will be the most intensive event I have been through in this whole thing, since the start over a year and a half ago.  Any grief, discomfort, etc.  I have been thoug
Read more

Thurdsay - My New Nemisis ?

Wow. Today was nasty. Tossed and turned most of the night, and then barfing in the morning. Nothing to come out, just there to taunt me, and let me know who's boss. Then there was the tightness of the chest, and some pain in my arm. Well, that started a flury of activity. ECG, blood work, etc. ECG looks good, there were some blood signed that the heart might have been in distress. They will be putting me on some drugs to help my heart mellow out just in case. It's all fine now, but they are being on the safe side. Tired. So very tired today. I slept most of the day, and I am only now getting into doing some stuff on the computer. Catching up with work, blog, etc. I don't have my totals for today, but the platelets and red blood cells mean I will probably be getting a transfusion tomorrow. I got to have a shower today - Yippie ! My last bag of the nasty "Red Koolaid" of death was today, so only the one Chemo drug left on tap. Still a potent brew at that, bu
Read more

Day 36, 37 - You're Fired !

Image
Day 36 - Thursday Ok, so today was another decision day.  Would the stat's be stabilized or would I get a transfusion ? Determined to be going home no matter what, I had checked out of the Lodge at 9am, and my luggage was down at the reception.  I was still there until around 12:30 when I said my goodbyes to some of the other inmates, and left for my 1pm appointment.   W 3.7 / N 1.7 / H 100 / P 60 All Up with last transfusion on Sunday. So, they start consulting if they should remove my Hickman line or not.  Just after 3pm, the decision comes down that they will remove it. At this point I feel it looks good that I will be able to have my next appointment be a week away, or at least until Monday, thus giving me the weekend. Around 3:15, Dr. Teshpar comes in to remove my Hickman line.  Most of the female doctors are more compassionate, but have a lot of difficulty when it comes to the "Causing Pain" stuff like biopsies, etc. Dr. Teshpar was not happy about h
Read more