Triple Lumen Hickman #2

Waiting to go in the operating room

Here is my new triple lumen hickman

Yesterday I went to the hospital to have the surgery to put another central catheter in my chest. I have already had one but a month and a half ago it got infected, so they had to remove it. I have had the picc line in my arm, but to get a transplant you need the one in your chest. So the picc line in my arm got removed yesterday as well. The procedure went well, I was under conscious sedation so didn't really feel pain just some tugging and pulling at times. I was really sore, tiered and hungry when I got home. My procedure wasn't until 3 pm and I couldn't eat or drink anything all day because of the contrast they give you. By the time I got out of the operating room it was 5 pm and I was really hungry and thirsty. So we drove home and I ate something and went to bed not too long after that. I didn't really sleep that well though. My neck and chest were really hurting so I was taking constant pain medication, but it still didn't help too much.

This morning I had to go to the infusion center for labs and a dressing change on my central line. I am going to have to go for 3 days in a row to get it cleaned and the dressing changed on it because it is new. But today while my nurse was trying to flush my lines and draw blood, it wasn't doing anything. He was able to get one of the three to give him enough blood to send to the labs. He said that it shouldn't be doing that especially since it is brand new. My bone marrow coordinator came to see me and said for me to go back to the hospital and they are going to take a look at it. Worst comes to worst they are going to have to take it out and put another in. I was thinking to myself "oh great"! So I went back in the operating room and they did an x-ray/ ultrasound and found that it was the best case scenario. They had just tightened the stitching too tight and it had closed off the lines. So the doctor just cut my stitching and stitched me back up, a little looser this time. It wasn't too painful even though I didn't have any numbing medicine. I guess I am used to needles going through me by now (: ! So now I am back home and quite exhausted. I think I am going to take a nap and hopefully get some much needed rest.