Let's just say.... ouch, a little

So, today has been a long day. All in all a good one, just long. The day started out nice and lazy, but with the lack of food. I am in strong dislike of starving and I wake up always SO hungry. Not fun, but hey.. I'm tough right? At 9:15ish we headed off to the clinic to get some tubing installed in my chest. No really.

So, we get there and we are taken into a ready room where I get to don a beautiful outfit of ill fitting hospital pantaloons, socks and gown. I looked fantastic. :) I should have taken pictures. Sorry. We then received more instruction on the Hickman Central Line that I was to receive. A quick guide on what is it, why I will need, where it is in my chest, etc. It's kinda an amazing thing. There is a long flexi tube that they insert into a vein right next to my neck that comes out right above my right breast with two tubes. There are tops on the tubes from which they can draw blood and/or administer drugs. :/ Good times. At least I will not have to be poked in the arm or wrist anymore.

So, after the instruction and some antibiotics, I was off to another prep room where the actual surgeon chatted with us. He explained the actual process of the surgery and took an ultrasound of my veins near my neck to decide if he wanted to put it in on the right or left side. As stated above, he chose the right.

Then off to the actually surgery. They booted, nicely, my mother to the waiting room with many assurances that they would take good care of me, which they totally did. Then they readied me for the adventure. This procedure is done with conscious sedation, which I was initially weirded out by. But let me just tell you, that's pretty cool stuff. They needed to use this type of sedation for a couple reasons. During the procedure there may come a time when they need me to take a deep breath to make my veins a bit larger, and right after the procedure, they need you awake and able to stand up for a chest x-ray. So, in go the sedation drugs.

As I'm sitting there tapping my toes to some fantastic Ella and Louie, I start drifting off. It was nice. I really needed a nap anyway. (Speaking of Ella and Louie, love the fact that whenever they are taking you in for a procedure they ask you what music you like and they throw on Pandora for you. Last time I picked Paramore during my Bone Marrow Biopsy. I think that is such a great idea.) So, as I'm falling in and out of "it" the surgeon is asking me questions and who knows what I said in response. Probably completely inane things that made all around chuckle. I'm sure I made myself look like a fool. I don't remember much of it, which I hear is a good thing, but I do remember distinctly asking the doctor if he was going to sew me up and hearing him chuckle and say that he was done. I'm sure he needed me to remind him to finish sewing me up. Yup.

So, after the chest x-ray and them saying all looked fabtastic, off the to recovery room. I was promised gourmet cheese and crackers at the end of the procedure and was definitely NOT disappointed. String cheese and saltines. I mean, how more gourmet can you get. Oh yes, there was some short bread as well, but who wants THAT when you have saltines, really. As I was recovering and eating they asked if I wanted them to go get my madre, but I told them I didn't want to share so they could wait a bit. :s So, after I had my fill, my momsy was invited in to see me. By that time I was getting a little nauseated and dizzy so we just chilled there for another few minutes till they decided I was just a whiner and needed to be kicked out. Just kidding. I was geared up and ready to go back to my beddy. So, home we went and I spent the rest of the day floating between nauseated and ok, nauseated and ok, etc. you get the dizzying picture.. literally. My mom spent the day running around Seattle like a crazy person. Wandering all over the city. :) Go mom. :) She made me a delicious dinner that hasn't decided it needs to reappear, which is a good thing, so I'm off to bed before anything else can happen. :) Night