We have said good bye to another friend who was with us on our journey, “Hickman.” My last message talked about my temp, which was steady for the past 36 to 48 hours—High. It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind since last writing, as I have had a whole ton of drugs, pre-meds, blood products and antibiotics. Yesterday felt like it was fifteen days rolled into one.
The major development of the day was the removal of my Hickman. A very technical procedure that involves one hand on my chest and the other one pulling out the line. Despite no local anesthetic, it actually wasn’t too bad. I had “blood cultures” done a couple of days ago which involves blood from my two Hickman ports and an arm. For the first time ever all three samples grew bacteria. Fortunately, they were the same, e-coli, which is very treatable with regular antibiotics.
To say my chest is sore today is quite an understatement, but when I am motionless, I can get pretty comfortable. With all the drugs in me last night, I slept pretty well and I have been doing the same off and on today. My stomach is “done” and I haven’t been keeping any food in for the past little while.
Thanks to those of you who have written, dropped off food and sent your positive thoughts and prayers. This is the first message I have ever dictated, so please excuse the grammar transition, if there is any.
I’ll be back soon.
Always…
Live Life. Love Life.
Geoff
