Wednesday, July 18, 2007
| PICC a vein, any vein... Well I tried writing this yesterday but explorer crashed on me, typical. Mum's taxi arrived on Monday morning an hour before my appointment - I still had wet hair from the shower, no change there then, at least I was clean! Knowing it can take 45 mins to drive the four/five miles to hospital we set off only to get stuck in lots of traffic, no idea why but were only about 5 mins late so didn't feel too bad. The Lone Ranger (part of Dr Tom's team and a PICC expert in my opinion) was already there so I climbed on the bed, which was raised up - the jerkiest thing ever, it shook all my poor insides which have taken enough of a battering lately. The Lone Ranger put on the usual green gown, plastic apron, gloves etc and put a waterproof pad between my arm and a pillow (to catch blood which always escapes when you have a hole cut in a vein funnily enough). It seemed to take about 5 minutes with a tourniquet on and much tapping...I think he was sending morse code to my veins asking them nicely to appear, I think it's a technique called vein whispering......like they use on uncooperative horses. He decided it was worth a try on my right arm again - different vein though. And so the shoving begins..... It was less of a "sharp scratch" than a small rodent gnawing at my arm and I'm sorry to say I emitted a few "OUCH, OOO, OW"s. I hate doing that, I mean I don't like to put them off when they have sharp objects impaling me.... It took the Lone Ranger a full 10 minutes - there was a clock behind him which stopped me watching the old claret oozing out all over my arm. He would get a few centimetres in, then move my arm, adjust my shoulder, push a few more in, move my arm again, ask me to put my chin on my shoulder, more pushing, move my arm more (ouch The nurse was filling in the x-ray request form...."now you know I have to ask, is there any chance you may be pregnant". HAHAHAHAHA "If I'm pregnant it's a bloody miracle, I've had my tubes chopped (sterilisation), my eggs fried (radiation), am going through the menopause (again radiation did that) and I've not been near a man in months, apart from Doctors. In fact on Valentine's day this year I spent it on this bed with the Lone Ranger shoving a 53cm tube in my arm". They did laugh, I was messing, not moaning...........she put me down as NOT pregnant on the form. The nurse said they'd be happier if I went to x-ray in a wheelchair, so Lou and Andy impressions for me and mum again. She threatened to race me down the corridor, I ask you! After being caught speeding and Road Safety lecture you'd think she'd have learned her lesson! What a sight, me 5'10" in a maxi-sundress and sandals with a dressing on my arm, my poor 5'2" mum at a 45 degree angle using all her few stone in weight to get some momentum going - always get stares! No real wait in x-ray it was practically deserted, in and out in minutes, not hours and back to the Lone Ranger's office to look at the x-ray on his PC. Looking at it, the vein wiggles around my shoulder so I think that's what caused him the problems! Another temporary dressing and off to do some retail therapy in the form of bags and Nintendo DS Lite accessories - yes I blew a whole week's shopping budget of £22 on myself! I did buy Karys a ring though, she loves it. Back to hospital on Tuesday for a more permanent dressing - with statlock to hold the PICC in place. I've been given a tube dressing to cover it all up this time which is quite nice, stops people being upset but I don't really care about people looking or asking questions - I'm quite happy to educate anyone interested.
Tuesday was rather stressful because my daughter had her bus pass taken off her by the driver on Monday evening as the print is coming off - 4 days of the school year left and he confiscated it! What a jobsworth. Anyway she didn't tell me. Doesn't tell me anything, she's 14, information has to be extracted painfully over a series of short conversations. The driver had told her she could use next year's pass, duh, no she can't. Tuesday morning's driver refused to let her on the bus, along with two other boys in the same boat. She told him I'm ill and unable to driver her to school, he wasn't interested. The boys, never ones to miss an opportunity, went home. Karys? She reverse called my mum who then couldn't get hold of her mobile due to signal problems, meanwhile she's WALKING 15 miles to school along the bypass. My sister, meanwhile, had seen her striding up the road 5 miles from home and eventually, thanks to a few phone calls my mum picked her up (en route to take me to hospital) and took her as close to school as time and traffic allowed without being late to take me. I rang the school, it's the County's fault for producing naff passes, they know about it. The bus company and drivers have all been told NOT to refuse a child entry on the bus, but to take their name and school so a letter can be written by the school to replace the pass at this late stage in the year. I rang the bus company, who insisted their drivers had NOT taken her pass - at this stage I'm now doubting my daughter. I rang the school back in the afternoon - her pass turned up at the Coningsby depot proving she was telling the truth, but a mystery as to how it got there because Coningsby is 15 miles north of our house, her school is 15 miles south? The bus company claim she must have been on a Coningsby bus, yeah right, but miraculously left school at 4pm, met friends for an hour or so and still got into the village for 6.30? Anyway I was more than happy with the school's investigations, the driver will be sought out, ALL drivers reminded YET again about the importance of not leaving children stranded with no money with parents possibly out all day at work. As usual when anything nearly happens to your children - all manner of sick horrible thoughts pass through your mind in a jumbled frenzy. Before I'd eaten my lunch I was going blind in my right eye - oh fantastic, a MIGRAINE. The last time I had a migraine was after my cancer diagnosis.......
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that hurts from the nerve damage) "bless you" he said. At one point my arm was close to my ear....53cm of tubing later and it's in. 
rather than come home and face me, I must be such a horrible person - this fact alone upset me more than anything. Mum said she didn't want to worry me more as she knew I was back and forwards to hospital from this week. Worry? That my 14 year old daughter is walking 15 miles along a busy bypass where anything could happen. How naive is she, have I taught her nothing? | Peter   |
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