Any Port in a Storm

Just a brief check in...

James has recovered from his bout of conjunctivitis and subsequent allergic reaction in fine form. The only thing bothering him now is - what appears to be - seasonal allergies.

On Friday, we went into the hospital for a scheduled MRI. We found out today that the results came back clear.

This morning Jennifer and James returned to MMC for his seventh round of chemo. Now, I've chatted about this enough for you all to know that the number one thing that James hates more than anything in this world is being accessed. I don't blame him one bit. It's a damn big needle. EMLA or not.

Well, the first three attempts to access his portacath failed. The needle would go in but they couldn't get fluids in or blood out of the darned thing. Something was clearly up. X-rays showed that everything looked as if it was all in place. Finally, after a fourth attempt they were able to flush saline in. This opened the door for meds to be given to eat away at any clots in the line (if that was, in fact, the issue). An hour or so later, the port was back to cooperating (in and out)and pre-hydration could begin.

That being said, the portacath "issues" didn't derail the overall chemo schedule. It just pushed back today's therapy from what typically is about 3 or 4pm to just after 9pm. The upside is that the port works (and that's all that really matters). The downside is that we can't leave until 24 hours after chemo begins. So, were in until 9:10pm Tuesday night (at the earliest).

Hope all is well. I'll check in soon.
dct