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| The port |
The big news here this week is that I met with the surgeon on Thursday about getting my port removed. I didn't expect to be able to schedule the removal so quickly, but I will be getting my port out on TUESDAY of next week!!
At my last appointment with Dr. Complex we discussed whether or not we would need the port for anything At this point we can't see needing it again, since the IV antibiotics were not successful.
I am very ready to have the port removed. As you can see, it is a fairly visual reminder of what I endured last year. I will definitely still have a scar, but I will be grateful not to have the visible bump where the port is located, especially in time for Spring and Summer. I don't necessarily mind if people see it, but I know that some people are very uncomfortable with its appearance.
The same surgeon who removed my gallbladder and inserted the port will be removing it, and I'm very, very comfortable with his skills. The removal should also be a LOT easier than the insertion. The procedure can be done at the outpatient surgery center with a local anesthetic and some sedation. It is also only a 20 minute procedure.
I am definitely ready to have this foreign object out of me, be done with the monthly home nursing visits, and put this piece of last year behind me.
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| Port scar (lots of scaring from having it accessed so many times last year). |
Mom will be getting an epidural the following day at the same outpatient surgery center, in hopes of relieving some of her debilitating pain from her lumbar spine compression. The last injection, a caudal steroid injection, didn't bring her relief, nor has the neurontin she has been taking.
We feel a bit like all we do is manage our health issues and go from appointment to appointment. Even Asher has not been feeling well!
After a month of feeling much improved, I've had a setback that has lasted the past two weeks. I'm not sure right now what is causing it, but it has certainly been disappointing, especially after having a taste of feeling a little better.
And that's the quick update!
Blessings,
Emily
1 comment:
Ouch! Our toddler friend with leukemia has had so many issues with his port (it seems to make him go septic on a regular basis. His mom is ready to crush his doctors and the entire medical establishment into tiny pieces...), I'm glad that you will be able to get it removed so quickly!
I had thought the port was open and available, i didn't realize your skin had grown over it.
The picture reminds me of trees I've seen that have grown around manmade items-- around here, it's usually sidewalk bricks that the roots have captured and absorbed...
When I was a teenager I was very much taken by an old tree that had absorbed a stretch of barbed wire fencing. It was a great comfort to me, that hard summer, and a testament to enduring despite sharp, rusty, horrible things that you couldn't escape. The tree was determined to grow, and wasn't going to let some nasty bit of metal stop it.
Anyway, you are in my thoughts. *hug*
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