Day 93 - Bard Power Port Removal - December 15 2011

Jani and I made it down to UCH early. I was to check in at noon for the 12:30 PM Bard Power Port Removal procedure in Interventional Radiology.


First, we delivered Christmas goodies to Dr. Myint , the Nurses in the BIC, the Oncology Clinic Nurse Practitioners and Hank, the Transplant Nurse Coordinators, Donna and Derek in Scheduling, and the 11th Floor Inpatient Bone Marrow Transplant nurses.


Then, on to Interventional Radiology on the 3rd Floor of the Inpatient Unit. We were taken right back, given the warm blanket and told to wait. And wait we did.

I put EMLA cream (numbing) over the Bard Power Port site because they were going to numb the skin with xylocaine injections before they made the incision to lift the port out of its pocket beneath my skin. That's plastic wrap over the EMLA Cream. You apply the EMLA Cream 1 hour prior to the poking and it works great!

Nurse Practitioner Kendra consulted her attending physician about the blood clot in my heart and reviewed my existing MRI of my Heart, and 2 echocardiograms. I'm considered to be hypercoagulable (makes blood clots easily) and they felt that it was best to have the foreign body (Bard Power Port) removed to allow my body to resolve the blood clot in my heart. I'lll be on Fragmin (blood thinning) injections for at least 3 months. In addition, the chemotherapy pill that I take 14 days out of every 28 days has blood clots as a side effect...all the more reason to have the port removed now.


I was finally taken back for the 12:30 PM procedure at 2 PM.

Nurse Practitioner Kendra did the procedure. As with my Trifusion Hickman Catheter removal, a risk existed that taking the port out might "mobilize" the existing blood clot in my heart, but I didn't experience any problems. A lot of mashing of my chest wall and I'm absolutely SURE I'll be quite sore for the next couple of days after the xylocaine wears off. I was back with Jani in recovery by 3:15 PM.She was just starting to get concerned that it was taking too long.

 

Dressing over the former Bard Power Port site with Tegaderm since I'm allergic to almost every other adhesive. Click twice on the photo above and you can see how much thicker my hair is getting.


Our super nurse, Carolyn, did my vital signs a couple of times along with the discharge teaching (No shower for 48 hours and to call IMMEDIATELY for any shortness of breath or chest pain). Finally, at 3:45 PM, we were on our way back to Greeley in Bart (2006 Honda Pilot).


On our way home, I took a whole Percocet. About 20 minutes after I took the pill, I had a reaction like I was going to FAINT. I was just sitting in the passenger seat of the car doing nothing.  I was sweaty for a minute and then "the spell" quickly passed. While it was happening, I thought, "THIS IS IT - I'M DYING".  I don't know why I thought I could take a whole Percocet when I've only taken 1/2 tablet always before. Scared Jani too!


Now that I'm home, I seem fine - feels like someone punched me in the chest - not that I've ever been punched in the chest~~~~


My spirits are high --- I'm one more BIG STEP closer to being able to go home to Mackay, Idaho on December 27 2011 if the weather across Wyoming cooperates!!!!!