Port-a-Cath Saga Continues

Ugh!!! My stupid port-a-cath saga continues....

Pete and I went in yesterday for our weekly check-in with my doctors. At these appointments, I get weighed, have my temp and blood pressure taken, review blood test results and talk about any symptoms with my doctors so that they can be sure to catch any issues early on. This is also the time that the nurses flush out my port-a-cath (e.g., my "carabiner" that I had surgically implanted in my chest so that the chemo line can be permanently attached) and they reattach a fresh supply of chemo drugs and apply clean bandages. All in all, this is an important -- but usually routine -- weekly visit. Except for this week!

You might remember from my prior post about how painful the port-a-cath "non-event" surgery was? Well, my chest has continued to feel uncomfortable and I have complained to a number of doctors about it (including the surgeon who actually did the procedure when I met with him a couple days ago for a check-in!!) But everyone kept reassuring me that everything looked fine and that the discomfort I was feeling was probably just my body getting used to having a strange thing inside. "Yuck!" I thought, "but okay, if that's all it is."

Well, when the nurse removed the bandages and dressing yesterday to flush out the port, she discovered that the incision from my surgery was WIDE OPEN!! It had not healed shut as it was suppose to have done! In all fairness, none of the doctors had been able to actually tell that the incision was not healed because it had been covered by a thin, clear film (which is applied over the entire port-a-cath area to keep out germs) and this film was holding the incision shut. It wasn't until the nurse removed this clear film that the incision popped opened. Needless to say, the nurse was a bit alarmed and called over the doctor who immediately sent me back to the hospital to be sewn back together.

Hmmmm....I am not a doctor or anything, but do you think that maybe this could be why my chest was still hurting, Dr. Port-A-Cath Surgeon? Do you think that maybe you should have listened harder when I told you that I was still in pain? And maybe you should have pulled back ALL the bandages and dressings before you concluded that everything was normal?

So after a very disgusting procedure where I actually had to lie awake listening to them flush out the incision and sew me up, I am back together again but not necessarily "out of the woods." Clearly, the incision has been open now for about 10 days (although, luckily, covered by the clear film bandage) so my risk of infection is pretty high. Not to mention the fact that my blood results show that my white blood cell count has dropped almost in half within the past week (it's now at 4.2 versus 7.9, for all you doctors out there.) The doctor reassured me that this drop is to be expected during chemo, but obviously not what my body needs when it's trying to fight any possible infection. Come on, Body -- it's time to rally!!! So I think that it's fair to assume that I'll be spending the next few days resting as much as possible and avoiding germy situations at all costs (to the extent that is possible with two young germ-magnets running around underfoot.)

I think that the hardest part of the whole day yesterday was not what I had to go through, but rather what I missed. Pete and I had planned to go for a long hike together after my appointment and then head home in time to play with the kids before bedtime. As I was laying on the surgery table, all I could think about was how much I miss spending time with the people whom I love. I feel like my days are filled with appointments or errands or doing other things which will hopefully make me well again, but this doesn't leave much time to play my children or to snuggle with my husband or to just chat with friends. So as I lay there on the table with tears running down my cheeks, I decided that I need to start scheduling these things into my calendar in the same way that I schedule in my other medical appointments because all of these things are equally important to my health and well-being and they are what make me happy.