Free at last...I am free at last! I no longer resemble the Borg with a dual port on my right shoulder. :).
This was to be a simple procedure. The radiology technician who prepped me told me that often they don't even need freezing, they simply snip the stitches and pull the line out. Yah, riiiiiiight! I already knew that my line was well established since a pull on the exposed end moved the skin up near my neck. But hey, what do I know...I'm no medical professional!
So Dr. Radiologist comes in and says, "yah, we need some freezing since you've had this for almost 2 months now." There is a Dacron cuff on the line a few inches back from the exit point and scar tissue forms at that place to help secure the line. He said he would freeze me, and would have to release some of the scar tissue from the cuff and then the line would just come right out. Okay...sounds simple enough. I had a funny feeling it wasn't going to be quite that simple.
I hate freezing. I am very sensitive to the lidocaine and it really stings and burns a lot. Maybe this is just normal and I am a wuss, or maybe I am more sensitive than others, but I find it painful. Anyway, he freezes me up and starts to yank and dig and yank and dig. He tells me that I will feel pulling and pushing but if I feel any pain, to let him know. Each yank gives a searing, sharp pain closer to my neck area, and I react with a variety of sounds from sucking in air, to gasping, to ooooh, and finally to a very audible OUCH!! He pauses and says, are you feeling the pulling or does it hurt? Duhh! It really hurts, I tell him. "More freezing" he instructs the technician.
So we try again, more tugging, more pain. I tell him it is up by my neck that it hurts. He feels around and says, "more freezing". This time he injects it closer to my neck and I know he's finally figured it out. <Sigh> Lots more snipping, tugging and ouches later the technician proclaims "it's out!". We all let out a sigh of relief.
The doctor explains that the cuff was not where he expected it to be and it was much closer to my neck than the exit site. He had to make another incision to access the cuff and excise the scar tissue. He laughed and said, "this tubing had become very attached to you" and I replied, "I understand, I am a very likeable person!". Chuckles were had by all. LOL!
Anyway, I think I counted 3 or maybe 4 stitches, as the thread made an audible squeak as he pulled it taut to knot it. Nice!
They dressed it and had me apply pressure for 10 minutes to stop the bleeding. A nurse came in at the five minute mark to ask how I was doing. She said, "I heard you had quite an ordeal", which confirmed my suspicions that, once again, I had transformed a simple procedure into an adventure. Always the over-achiever!
In any event, I am now tubing free and will be able to get totally soaking wet in about a week, once the stitches heal at the new incision and the steri-strips fall off the exit site. I will now have 3 battle scars to remind me of my bravery! :) (No, I don't care about the scars! -- I have earned them all!)
No comments:
Post a Comment