port put in

On Friday, I had to get a port put into my body to make it easier for chemotherapy. The port is small device under the surface of my skin, about 2 inches below my right clavicle. The chemo folks will inject it during treatment. They can also take blood from it as well.

We got to the hospital before 9 am to register and answer the same thousand questions for the sixth or seventh time. I felt nervous, but I was trying to focus just on the moments and not on my thoughts or feelings. I don't really remember too much of the day.

The anesthesiologist, Dr. G. had trouble getting the IV in. He used 4 needles and left big bruises on my arm. The hospital's elevators seemed to not work too well; we seemed to have to wait forever for them to go up and down the stairs to surgery. I remember that they had to give me more anesthesia than they thought that I needed.

I woke up with tons of blankets on me in an isolation room (because I'm allergic to latex). Eventually they brought back to the room where I started. It was really great to be met by several friends. I don't remember what we talked about, but it felt so good to see people I recognized.

We left the hospital around 4pm. I slept on and off the rest of the night and most of Saturday.

My chest is sore, but much better today than it was on Friday. It aches when I move my right arm. Lumpy is tender too. It hurts when people hug me, but, otherwise, I feel better today than yesterday.

Needle count: 8
(Touch count is going to stay the same since I wasn't conscious.)