PICC line fun!

Hi everyone! Thursday, January 31st was PICC line day and my sweet friend, Michelle's birthday! I think I'll remember that the 31st is her birthday only in the future! :)

My oncologist suggested that I get a PICC line for chemo infusions like I mentioned earlier. This is a procedure that is done in the hospital but does not require you to be sedated or wear a gown! The hospital has a PICC line team of nurses that perform this procedure all day long. It took about 30-45 minutes to do and I only felt a needle stick of Lidocaine to numb my arm. They use an ultrasound to find a large vein in your upper arm and feed a small catheter from your vein into your superior vena cava. After she inserted my PICC line, they took a chest radiograph to make sure it was where it needed to be. And we were off!

My aunt and cousin came along with me and I am grateful for that! That would have been hard to do alone. Thanks Anni and Sara! Oh, and I got to be apart of Sara's first trip to Pal's!

After the PICC line was in place we had to report back to the oncologist's office to learn about flushing out the line. So, in short, everyday we have to flush out the PICC line with saline. Anni also got some hands on experience with PICC line flushing!

Now for a little venting-

A PICC line hurts, is cumbersome, and time-consuming. I hope it stops hurting at some point, but I am only 2 days out from having a catheter jammed into a large vein in the middle of my upper arm. I am having a hard time wearing long sleeves because if you know me, I have incredibly bulging biceps and then you throw a PICC line in the mix. Just kidding. And lastly, wrapping my arm in Saran Wrap and then taping the edges down with electrical tape can take some time before showering. Did I mention that the Saran Wrap thing takes 2 people? So those of you with PICC lines or those that have had them in the past, my heart goes out to you.

Now that the venting is over, thank you God for this PICC line. Thank you for chemotherapy. Thank you for this country and the availability of medical care (exceptional medical care at that). Jason and I were talking about all we were thankful for in this process and he brought up the gift of living in America. After going to Haiti this past fall, both of our eyes were opened to how easy we have it here. This story would have been much different there. I am thankful for this temporary PICC line and all of the lovely things it brings because it will make the way for the medicine that will save my life. Well, my life on earth.

I have a few pictures from PICC line day. PICC lines are cool.