Unexpected Dramas

25th July, 2012

Today’s trip to the cancer clinic for chemo equaled another blocked PICC line episode.

On two separate occasions, while the nurse was trying to flush the PICC line clear, she was using so much force, that that heparin needle snapped from the line & splashed all over us and the nurse. All we could do was laugh. 

So, after sitting there for about 4 hours trying to get Chris prepped for treatment, the nurse finally gave up trying to access the PICC line.

They then called another senior nurse who attempted to flush & access the line, but her attempts were also futile. At that stage, we knew that treatment wasn’t going to happen. The senior nurse said that the amount of blockages & issues that Chris has had with the PICC line so far, was more than enough and that it was time to take it out completely, so they did.

We were told that a new PICC line could not be surgically put through today; therefore, we would need to come back tomorrow, for the new line, followed by chemo.

Good news today was the nurse removing the old PICC line.. WOW, this would be the first time Chris’s arm would be free...first time in 4 months that she wouldn’t have to cover it when she showers & worry about bumping it or anything. So this was an exciting moment & she would be PICC free for the night.

So, by the time we got home, we were so pleased that Chris was free of the PICC line and not dosed up on chemo, that we were both on such a high we decided we would have a little dance, right there in our tiny little lounge room. We haven’t practiced our rockabilly dancing for months *A- because of the PICC line & *B- Chris would normally be afflicted with nausea from the chemo treatment...

Anyway, we danced & it was sublime, we just really savoured the fact that Chris had another day feeling good as she didn’t have to receive treatment today; yes, she would tomorrow but tomorrow is another day that we would be dealt with then.

Barrels of fun = PICC line issues

24^th April, 2012

We were due back at the hospital to flush & clean Chris's PICC line. The apt was originally at 4pm; however, due to the public holiday (tomorrow), they changed the apt to 8am.

Chris didn’t sleep at all last night, so the timing couldn’t have been better. Chris was in a lot of pain from the PICC line. She had bad pain under her armpit, which was shooting down her arm. We arrived at the hospital at 7.30am, hoping we could get someone to look at it quickly.

We thought that we would be in & out of the hospital today but because of the pain that Chris was feeling,  the nurse wanted to call the Dr to get them to check that there was no clotting.

The hours rolled by & while sitting in the waiting room, several conversations were had with some of the regular ladies that we have seen coming in for their chemo. Stories were shared about the effects of chemo, different meds, pain & types of cancers.

One lovely elder lady had breast cancer & had a mastectomy. She has been having chemo since Dec 2011, which was expected to continue to August. She had a beautiful smile & talked to us about how she used to be so active but since starting chemo, she struggles. She went on to talk about the day she decided to shave off her hair. She was a real sweetie. During the conversation, it struck me how amazing the human spirit is. 

Some good news is that Chris was feeling slightly brighter (from the chemo side effects), although she is still very fatigued, tired & queasy, there are moments where I can see the real Chris peeking through & it makes me so happy.  

The hours rolled by & we waited & waited for a Dr, then finally an assistant Registrar (of Dr Blood) came & checked over Chris. He agreed that there appeared to be an issue (Oh really). 

The next thing we knew, the elusive Dr Blood came striding toward Chris & he explained that she would need an ultra sound & chest X-ray (to check out what was going on in there). He went on to say that the hospital was very busy today & that we needed to go over to Westmead Private Hospital (as we would get the results quicker). So we popped over there.. Tests were done, and then we headed back to the Cancer Clinic.

We then waited and waited. Eventually, the assistant Registrar confirmed that a clot had formed around the PICC line. Apparently, the reason this happened was because Chris’s type of cancer is a blood cancer & her blood was reacting to the foreign object (PICC line) that was placed in her body. He just said it’s one of those things, it doesn’t necessarily happen to everyone with this type of Cancer but Chris was just one of the lucky ones (Cheer squad sings out Hoorah). He then added that Dr Blood doesn’t want the PICC line removed, therefore, Chris now needs to inject herself with Clexane (blood thinner) twice a day (for the next 3 months).

This should eventually assist with the treatment of the clot and reduce the risk of future clots. He also prescribed Chris with Endone (painkiller) to assist with the pain. He said that it will take about a week for the Clexane to do its job.

Ah fabulous, the original reason for Chris’s PICC line was to try to avoid excessive pricks + to assist with not having to have the chemo injected directly  into her veins due to the pain, vein damage & withering. Alas, now Chris will have to have an added two pricks a day for the next three months!!!!

Finally, the go ahead was given to the nurse to clean/flush the PICC line. Chris must have the PICC line clean/flushed every 7 days. This is required to prevent clogging & reduce the risk of infection.

The nurse also gave Chris her first Clexane injection (into her stomach). The nurse showed us how we should correctly inject the Clexane ourselves at home.

After nearly an 11 hour stint at the hospital, we wearily took ourselves home. It was a big long day at the hospital but on a positive note, we found out the cause of the pain & at least have a solution...hopefully back on track!