Just a quickie update since so many have inquired. Thanks for all the calls and emails asking about me. I know I should repost when I'm out of the hospital, I'm sorry, but I got busy and forgot. Or the dog ate it. Wait I don't have a dog. It's one of those tried and true lame excuses. : ) The tuneup worked wonders, I can breathe again and the SOB is gone. I feel like a new woman. It always amazes me, how your body acclimates to the gradual downfall of sickness. I just forget how wonderful it feels to feel good again. Sad that it takes a hospital stay and a round of IV cocktails, to once again make me realize just how sick I was.
I ended up being in for a week. I responded so well that my docs let me go home to finish up my IVs at home for the second week. Thank goodness, I was getting bored of the walls, the view of the block wall, the TV and the food. One great thing about this admit was a CF friend of mine was also in house. We were able to visit from our doorways, masked and gloved of course. We had some good conversations and it helped the stay not be so monotonous. Thank you SW, for the visits, the adorable card and as always good to see you again. I wish we could be REAL friends and actually go out and do something together.
My last home infusion was at 5:00 pm Tuesday. I have never had a home health nurse come out to the house just to remove my port needle, because it isn't a big deal, usually. I have accessed my port, stuck the needle in myself, and removed it many times before, no biggie.
The nurse in the hospital had a hard time putting the needle in, which I've been told my port is difficult to access. She pushed it in hard and it HURT, the most ever while having it accessed. The line didn't work, so she pulled it out and tried again, with a new needle. The second time she pushed even harder, me yelping a 'YIKES' to her. Wow I've never had anyone use such force, trying to put the needle in. She established that the line was indeed good to go, got a blood return and it flushed fine. But it just didn't feel right all week at home. It hurt the whole time, and I felt a pinching, needle stick feeling when I moved certain ways. I had never felt any of this before. And of course, with all the August heat wave, the port area felt sticky, gross and sweaty under the clear plastic tagaderm patch protecting it.
With the last IV dose done, I had visions of a needle-free, plastic-free, nice long relaxing shower. I couldn't wait to take the sucker out. I washed up, gloved up and began peeling off the tagaderm, along with some skin. As I'm pulling it off, the needle pinch feeling starts, so strong that I start to get nauseated. I had to peel a little, stop, peel some more, stop. I thought I was going to throw up, the feeling was grossing me out. I finally got the tagaderm off after about 5 minutes. I looked at the needle, it looked fine, no redness signaling infection, other than my irritated, blistered skin.
So here goes, I grab the red butterfly end of the needle and pinch. At this point, the needle is supposed to pop out, no problem, but it resisted. I sit down and my head is spinning. I rest a few minutes, until the queasiness subsides, stand up and try again. I pinch hard again, but no go. At this point, I have a cold sweat and pass out feeling. Oh crap, why didn't it come out? It's at the end of the day and I'm thinking, if I have to call out a nurse, I have to do it now. I decide to try once more before I make the call. I take a deep breath, so I don't keel over trying to pull the flippin' needle out of my chest. I'm determined, I pinch, hard as I can, and finally . . . pop. . . it came out. OMG, what a relief!! I was giddy with thankfulness that the evil needle relented. I won, bwa ha ha ha.
The evil needle after the fact.
It's funny, the quick transition I go through after a needle is pulled. I go from an exhausted hospital patient, getting up every 6 hours and do an IV to feeling back to my old self, I'm done, carefree feeling. Happy to be disconnected from drug routines and reconnect to gloriously boring life.
And happy to take a plastic free shower again after 2 weeks.
