Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwch! That hurts!

I guess going to the Medical Center every other week isn't enough for me, so I took a trip there today...

My upper arm has been bothering me since I had my PICC line installed just over a week ago. It's been a dull but constant pain increasing each day and although I could deal with it if I had to, it still hurt. It wasn't so fun to sleep with it either.

I didn't want to call in cause I was afraid of what they would say... like maybe "come in, we might have to take it out." But I thought, it probably shouldn't be feeling worse than when they put it in, so I called. They said "Come in, let us check it out. It's probably just an irritation in your vein, but we want to make sure there aren't any blood clots."

I went right in, got there about 12:45. Dr Azar said she could see some redness and that it shouldn't be hurting. She (and nurse Julie) ordered an ultrasound. Julie really worked some magic cause they said they didn't have an appointment until 3:30pm and when I went down to Radiology, they said they didn't have anything open until the 9th! But it all got straightened out and I was seen by 2pm.

It was coming up to 4 o'clock and I had to head out for a Parent Council Meeting at Darren's school, so I asked if they could change my dressing and I could check back for results. We optimistically hoped that no news was good news. Julie tracked down Dr Azar just before I was getting ready to leave and just AFTER Lisa had changed my dressing.

Results....
Apparently I was starting to get blood clots (not a good thing) and they had to pull the line. Argh... I just smiled and said "okay". Ya have to do what you have to do right? Dr Azar said I might need to get another Central Line (in my chest). I just am not sure how I feel about it. It seemed a bit easier than the PICC as I had an extra hand to use... but it's surgery.... and a $100 co-pay vs the $20 co-pay for the PICC line! But a PICC line in my right arm? That doesn't sound so fun either. Awe, whatever. For now, I have to take aspirin once a day until I hear back from Oncology. They will let me know what I am scheduled for.

Good news! No co-pay today! Yay!