The port removal operation went fine. It was truly one of the strangest experiences of my life. The doctor numbed me up and then cut a hole about three inches deep in my chest (if you have seen the red scar peeking out of my shirt, you know exactly where it is). He then proceeded to dig out my port, pull the tube from my vein and stitch me up all while chatting with Paul and I. What he was doing didn't hurt, but I could definitely feel him pushing, pulling, tugging and maneuvering in there. The whole thing took a little less than an hour. Paul even bravely looked into the opening a few times. He saw my collar bone exposed in my chest and didn't even pass out.
Here's some pictures. This is the port on the instrument tray. You can see the top of it with the tube that went into my vein extending out. The rubber top is where they inserted the needle to administer my chemo. It is not a very big target, so you can see why hitting the mark was sometimes difficult.
And, just for giggles, here is a picture of the device used to access my port. The big needle went in and the rest sat on top of my chest. 
Today I am doing fine. I am just very tired and sore. I didn't sleep much last night due to the pain and discomfort. I am just going to rest for the next couple of days and let it get better. So glad to have that thing out!
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well...All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139:14, 16
No comments:
Post a Comment