The PCA and The PICC line

It was an early start for an 8.30 appointment on 13th January at the Oncology Department !! I struggled to fall a sleep the night before so I was quite tired, however I'm pleased to say that we sailed through the car park phase!

Steve and I met with Charlotte, a Chemo Nurse, and she took us in detail through the treatment regime and the medication that has been prescribed for the side effects of the chemo therapy.

As expected, Steve soon brought humour to the proceedings; Charlotte explained that I'm to have a course of injections on the run up to each Chemo treatment to boost my immune system, and she described how this was usually done by 'partners',patient or district nurse! Charlotte and I were immediately distracted by a sharp intake of breath from Steve, his contorted face and his white knuckles that were clutching for dear life to the chair!! So.....to his relief ; we duly ruled Steve out from that responsibility!

My wound was examined and I had an ECG in preparation for he chemotherapy. I found out that the chemotherapy may have side effects on my heart and the ECG, which measures the hearts electrical conduction system, was taken as a base line for ongoing monitoring.

Charlotte was so personable which relived some of my underlying anxieties about the week a head of me.

After the meeting with Charlotte, the PICC line was fitted by Nurse; 'Gosha' and her colleague. The PICC line which is a long flexible tube was inserted into a large vein in my arm and threaded until it sat in a large vein just above my heart. Ultra sound technology was used to locate a 'good' vein and the nurses used new electronic equipment that ensured the tube fell in the right place.

Steve excused him self to pay extra on the car park, but Im sure he had anticipated the worst and chose to wait in the waiting area for me! I was given a local anaesthetic and the procedure was painless. It was all done under highly sterile conditions and the nurses attention to hygiene and procedure was impeccable. Gosha and her colleague had clearly worked with each other for along time, the rapport between them was great and this immediately put me at ease... They both satisfied any curiosity I had about the procedure and answered questions with enthusiasm.

5 hours later and following an X ray to double check that the PICC line was in the right location, we left the hospital and I had a 2 hour Disco nap. zzzzzzz!!!