Central Line

I have checked into the hospital after getting my central line put in. It took a couple hours of paper work and vital signs before they started the procedure and then about a hour to complete. I was settled in my room by about 4 pm.

Priot to starting the procedure, they shaved my chest, but did not do a wax. It may be hard to see in the photo (that is reversed left for right by the camera on my laptop), but there is an incision up my my neck above the jugular vein on the right side. This area was numbed up with lidocaine, a needle was inserted and then a wire that went down towards my heart to measure the distance. A "straw" was inserted over the wire to hold the jugular vein open. Then about 4 inches lower, an incision was made and a tunnel made through the fatty tissue up to the other incision. A rod was pushed through attached to the catheter which was then pulled through. The catheter was inserted through the straw into the vein and the straw was split and peeled back like a banana. The catheter was pushed further in towards the heart and the upper incision was glued shut.

That is the place that is hurting this evening since whenever I move my head it tends to stretch the skin in the area. A stitch was placed around a little cuff on the catheter just where it exits my chest. There are two lumens that can be used for blood draws and IVs. The catheter has a divider inside for its full length. The red one is used for blood draws like the 14 vials of blood they took out when I got to my room.

My wife was with me all afternoon except for the placement of the catheter. My son rode his bicycle down to the hospital and back later, a round trip distance of 20 miles. We took a tour of the BMT ward and then walked about three blocks outside to Sally's for a cheeseburger. I have been back in my room for a couple of hours. I am feeling pretty good so far, but the chemotherapy starts in the morning.

Thanks for all of your comments and prayers. I really appreciate everything you are doing. By the way, do not send any flowers which are not permitted in the BMT ward. If you wish to call, my phone # is 612-273-0205. Cellphones cannot be used on the ward. If you wish to visit, I am in the BMT ward 4B, room 221. It is probably best to wait a few weeks though since I will probably be pretty miserable over the next week and susceptible to infections after that. Surprisingly, they do permit up to 3 visitors at a time, but make you wash your hands and wear a mask if you have any sniffle.