May 18, 2017
Today is the day I get to have my port installed. I am feeling a little bit nervous about it. LeeAnna helped me create a short video right before I went to the hospital.
I had no clue what to expect from the surgery to get it implanted. The anesthesia was going to be the same as my biopsy, so I expected to remember bits and pieces but not really the whole thing. This was going to be one of the first times that LeeAnna was not going to be able to be right there for a procedure/test. I know she wanted to be there, but PTO has just about been exhausted for both of us and we have to keep that in mind moving forward.
LeeAnna drove me to the hospital and stayed with me while I went up to the floor that the procedure was going be happening on. It was time to take me back to get prepared, and we said our goodbyes. They took me back to get my IV started and gave me a list of the three potential doctors that may be doing the procedure. One of the doctors on the list was Dr. S who did my biopsy. He was quite the character, and I really liked him. I was hoping that he would be the one doing my procedure.
I started to ask the nurse what the port looked like. I thought that I had a basic idea, but what I imagined in my head was a bit off from what it really was. I thought something was going to be exposed, but in reality, it is all under my skin. There is a big rubber end that goes under the skin that a needle will go into to administer the chemo drugs as needed. The remainder of the line connects directly into my juggler vain. Below is a picture of the device that was going to be getting implanted into me.
The circle on the bottom left is what sits under my chest. The other part of the wire gets put into my juggler vain to be used to administer the chemo drugs. It can also be used to get blood, and give nourishment. They are going to leave this implanted into me for the next year in case I still need it after my chemo treatments are done.
It came time for my procedure and I got wheeled back to the procedure room. It had Dr L, but Dr S did stop by and say hi and wished me best of luck. He had mentioned that he wish he would have seen my name up earlier that day and he would have tried to make sure that he got me.
They moved me to the OR table and washed down the incision area. They put the top of my in a tent like enclosure and left only the outside area of my neck and chest exposed. It is about that time that things get fuzzy. I don’t remember any of the in between. The next thing I remember is getting some instruction to keep the incision covered from the next 2 weeks in the shower and that the port was available for immediate use.
To the right is a pic of me right before going to the procedure room.
It is now weird having a big rubber lump on the top right of my chest that someone can just push a needle through and have immediate access to my juggler. It gives me the chills when I think about it or feel it under my skin. The procedure itself was pretty painless. I put ice on the incision area for a couple days and all was well.
I am now ready to roll and begin getting some good chemo drugs pumped into me to begin killing this thing off once and for all.
Below is a picture of me right after getting brought back to my room from the OR.