Central Venus Catheter (Hickman line) Placement & Hook Up

This morning we were up at 4am for my 6:30am appointment. We are staying only about a 4 minute walk away, but we needed time to wake up, shower and get moving. I had to do a surgical cleans while showering this morning before we left. Just to clean the neck and torso area more than a usual shower can do. I will say, usually a shower is enough to wake me up. I will have coffee mainly for the taste and a little extra pick me up. This morning, it was really tough to wake up. Even after my shower. I am sure I could have gone back to sleep after  my shower since I couldn't have any coffee this morning. Just sips of water to take my pills. No food either, and while sitting in pre-op I was getting hungry.

Snuggling the little man

While Eric got ready, I snuggled with Brandon one last time before getting this hook up since for a few days it's going to be tender and he's going to want to grab it. Which isn't good. So, I had the snuggle time with him while he was still sleeping. Once Eric and I were ready to go, I called for the shuttle service to come get us and take us over to the Cancer Center for my appointment. We waited for 20 minutes and nobody showed up, so, we walked over there. That was how we found out it is only a 4 minute walk. And, it's a nice walk too. This morning was chilly, but not too much. It was nice to have that walk too. A little bit of exercise and air does a person good.

Waiting in the waiting room

Once we got to the Cancer Center and registered, we waited in the waiting room for about 10 minutes. Then we got called back to the pre-op area to get me ready for the surgery. The nurse did the usual. I was weighed, my temperature was taken, blood pressure done, they set up my IV and hooked me up. They also gave me a few warm blankets because it was cold back there in pre-op. Once done with all of that, we had another hour or so until I was going to be taken back to the surgery room. During this time Eric and I caught up on news, talked to each other, took goofy pictures (ok, I was taking goofy pictures) and then I started to get really tired. So I closed my eyes for a few minutes.

IV hook up

The nurse practitioner who was going to perform the procedure came in to talk to us and explain everything that would be going on. Then, the anesthesiologist came in to introduce herself and let me know that this procedure is a conscious sedation procedure. What that means is, they are going to numb the area and I will be given some medicine to keep me comfortable, but I will be awake and able to hear and see things going on around me. They were going to have my head and most of my body covered by a sterile sheet. While being rolled back, the Anesthesiologist Kris let me know that we will be listening to music and just let her know what I want to hear. My choice? Jack Johnson of course! Something calming and chill. While they were preping me Bob Marley "Every Little Thing" came on. Yep, isn't that so true? Every little thing IS going to be alright.

 Ready to go

Goofy faces

Waiting

The procedure itself seemed to go really fast. I think it was about 30 minutes long. The whole time I just felt a little pressure and tugging. But the lidocaine had numbed the area, so there was no pain. Well, no pain until afterwards. They gave me an ice pack to bring home and use for the soreness. because I will tell you, it's sore. I was then rolled into recovery and the nurse got Eric to come back. He thought it was going to be like having his wisdom teeth taken out. He thought I was going to be really out of it and all. Nope! I was just fine. A little tired, but I was feeling good. So good that the nurse offered and brought me a sandwich. Turkey sandwich on a crescent roll and some grapes. Yum-o! After maybe 15 or 20 minutes I got dressed and we were all set to go.

Ready to go

We ended up walking back to our apartment. I think the walk back was good for me because it got me moving again and the fresh air was nice also. Once back to the apartment, I hugged and kissed on a sleeping Brandon and then off to bed it was. I played down in bed, placed the ice pack on my chest and I was out. Luckily it was about 10am when I fell asleep and didn't have to be up until 1pm to get ready for the next appointment. After the nap, I felt great. I really needed that sleep. I was sore, but felt great. We got some lunch, I snuggled with Brandon for a little bit and then we were off on our walk back over to the Cancer Center for my continuous fluid hook up.

My Hickman line (Central Venus Catheter)

This is the really interesting part. We got there, got checked in and brought back to the treatment area. I big room with 8 chairs in it. It looked like the rooms at Kaiser for my chemo treatments. We sat in a chair, the amazing nurse Samira took some labs out of my new Hickman line, and we met with one of the pharmacy staff, Annabelle. She taught us about the pump for my continuous fluids. How to check it, how to clear alarms, what different alarms mean, etc. After Annabelle, we met with Tara, a Dietician. She talked to us about the diet I will be on. Let us ask any questions we may have about it. Like what I can and can not have. No berries, unless they are cooked, wash ALL fruits and vegetables very well, and make sure all meat is cooked thoroughly. Another thing I found out is that I can have lunch meats, I just have to heat them up. Basically, like when I was pregnant. I can also have ice cream, just not soft/self serve. It has to be bought in the freezer section of the grocery store.

All hooked up to my new "baby" for the next few days

After Tara, our nurse Samira came back, set us up to watch the 5 minute video on the hep filter mask I will be wearing starting tomorrow. Annabelle came back when we were done to get me hooked up to my very large saline bag in a backpack on wheels. The large bag has saline and potassium in it. I will be connected to and have to wheel this bag around with me until Friday afternoon before we head home. The reason for this bag is to keep me hydrated. The Cytoxin IV chemo I will be getting tomorrow can cause issues with the bladder and cause it to bleed. They found that as long as you keep hydrated, it will help prevent the infection and bleeding. So, they start the fluids early and keep them going through the next day. Luckily, today is the first day we didn't have anywhere we all had to be once the appointments were over. I was able to come back to the apartment (again, Eric and I walked) and actually sit down and relax. Eric went to get my remaining prescriptions at Kaiser in Redwood City and stopped at Target one more time to pick me up some tank tops to cover my Hickman line so Brandon doesn't grab on to them and put it out.

Walking back to the apartment with the new "baby" for the day

Tonight is the first time in a few days we have been able to just rest and relax. Tomorrow is a long day. We will be at the Cancer Center for about 9 hours or so. They will feed me breakfast, lunch and dinner. I will get my own room with restroom. During that time, I will try to do another post while there. In between reading, napping and other things I have brought with me to keep me busy. Thank you for reading. I know sometimes I can ramble, but I figure this is the best place to put the information out for everybody to see.