Mom and I took my foot out for another field trip today to the Vascular and Spine Institute (we even used the handicapped sticker for the first time!).
After waiting for a looonnnggg time in the waiting room (hence, the name), I was brought into an operating room to have a PICC line put in my arm. A PICC is a long, flexible tube that is put into a vein in your arm and threaded up into a large vein just above your heart (see the diagram). It can stay in your arm for up to a year and does not have to be changed.
Right now I give myself antibiotics through the PICC line every 8 hours. The antibiotic is placed in a pressurized ball that slowly releases the antibiotic over a half hour (the pictures show one that is full and one that is empty). I don’t need a nurse to come and do it and I don’t need one of those IV stands that you typically think of when you hear about IVs.
Dr. Jacobson took me off my old antibiotic because it caused my white blood cell count to go really low. Now, on the new antibiotic, I have been noticing that my hands will itch really badly and swell. Today my lips even started swelling (very Angelina Jolie-ish). I won’t be surprised if they pull me off of this antibiotic and put me on yet another one! Have to keep going with the flow . . .
I am getting a little excited because I see that my countdown to my weekly shower is getting very close!!!
Love to you!
Anne
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