My Port

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First I want to say that I'm sick again. That's right, again! I didn't even last a week before getting sick again. I spent my two days off with a runny nose, aching bones and NO sleep. Now, I'm losing my voice again. Oh well, at least the body aches are gone. I also spent one of my days off at UCSF getting my Herceptin and Perjeta infusion. The Benadryl actually helped me get some sleep though and allowed me to breathe through my nose for a few hours. I had to go to work today but don't worry, I wore a mask so I wouldn't spread my germs to all my patients. Now, I'm looking forward to my 3 day weekend. All I have to do tomorrow is go to a stroke update class and then the weekend is mine to enjoy. On Saturday Cruz will play in his first baseball game and he's so excited. So am I! I'll definitely be taking lots of pics.

 Speaking of pics, I managed to get some pics of the nurse accessing my port yesterday. It's kind of hard to see but we did the best we could while trying to maintain a sterile environment. I have to say that having my port accessed is so much more convenient than getting a peripheral IV. I wasn't quite prepared though, the first time my port was accessed. Everyone always talked about how easy it was but no one ever mentioned: The Pain. I don't know if it was because it was still fresh from minor surgery but it hurt so much the first time it was accessed. I made sure to get an order for lidocaine cream after that first time so that I would never feel it again. The lidocaine cream helps numb the skin so that you don't feel the needle stick but you have to leave it on for about an hour before it gets accessed to get full effect.

 Since I am allergic to Telfa dressings due to the adhesive I usually put a small amount of the lidocaine cream on a folded piece of saran wrap and place it on my port an hour before my infusion. I don't even feel it anymore and I never have to worry about my vein blowing and causing a major bruise (although I have really good veins). So here I am getting my port accessed yesterday:
Putting in the needle.
And it's in.
My port getting flushed.

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