So, on October 7th, I got my Porta cath put in. This is the semi-permanent IV like thing that they will use for my chemo therapy treatments.


My wonderful mom came up to watch the kids. My hubby is a teacher and had to go in early that morning to write sub plans (bless his heart, he’s going to be writing a lot of those), so I got the kids up and out the door. Being very careful not to eat or drink anything was the hardest part, and having the normal routine in the morning was very helpful. When hubby got home I showered. Then mom showed up and we went to the hospital. When we got there they said we had been bumped up, so they took us right in (again, whew! I hate waiting).

After registering and changing into the beautimus hospital gown, the OR nurse stopped in to say hi, I got an IV put in (yay! Not!) and the Anesthesiologist asked me how I wanted to be during the surgery. I told him that the surgeon had said it would only be a local, but I REALLY didn’t want to be awake to hear and feel them cutting and prodding me. He understood and said he would take care of me.

They wheeled me into the OR, and I put a warm blanket on me, and some cool compression socks. They tucked my arms in so they wouldn’t fall off the narrow bed, had me breath the oxygen, and I was out!

The next thing I remember was waking up to the Anesthesiologist telling me it went well. The anesthesia wore off quite well. When I got my tonsils out when I was younger, I remember it taking forever for my eyes to be able to focus.

So I dozed in “recovery one” for a while, then they took me to “recovery two.” This was basically where I came in initially. My hubby met up with me there. And we waited for my pain to ebb. Apparently they made two incisions. One by my collar bone to insert the port, and one on my neck to direct the tubing into the vein that goes to my heart. Dr C had told my hubby that my neck had been stiff, so I would have some bruising there. And that’s where most of my pain was, in my neck (a “hardy har” for the pun there).

I stayed in “recovery two” for quite a while, especially after a combo of pain pill and shot made me feel woozy. Since I hadn’t had more that day beyond some soda crackers and canned chicken noodle soup, and hubby hadn’t eaten since his early breakfast of frosted flakes, he treated me to a late lunch picked up from Denny’s. I had another woozy spell as we were getting there, but I stayed in the car while he brought me a takeout menu, and everything went great.

My mom had taken the kids to the park and to get ice cream, so I was able to eat my toast and soup in peace. Then they came and gave me gentle hugs and ate all the offered French fries that came with my sandwich.

I retreated to my room, while hubby ran to pick up my pain prescription, and mom made dinner. Then hubby took OB to his cello class, while I rested and watched TV in my room. I LOVE our pillow top bed.

I got through the rest of the night with no more woozy spells, and was able to take my pills at 4 hour intervals because the kids woke up around those times. Hubby got up and took care of the kids, then after they were settled, I got up and took a pill and ate a go-gurt. Yum.

The nurses said when they were checking me out I would need someone with me for 24 hours after the surgery. We hadn’t realized that, so hubby hadn’t written sub plans for Today (Thursday) as well. So arrangements were made with my mom, and then my sisters-in-law (KE, my big bro’s wife, and KA, my hubby’s little bro’s wife, who just happen to be best friends). They worked it all out, and my SIL’s came up early in the morning to hang out with me. KA walked the big kids to school, and KE took care of the little ones while she was gone and I laid down for a nap. When I woke up we ate yummy Portuguese Tacos that KE had brought, and I made chocolate Tapioca pudding for dessert. KE also oiled my sewing machine for me, and KA gave me advice on how to make the quilts I am planning for YB and YG. All in all it was a great visit, and I really appreciate everyone’s help. Especially hubby not growling last night when he found YB’s wet bed that I had forgot to change yesterday morning.

And now, I am all caught up on everything.

Oh, and here is a link for those who are interested in seeing more info about the porta-cath.

http://www.portadvantage.com/patient/about_implanted_ports.html