This coming Wednesday, I'll be finally getting a medical port put in underneath my skin. I'll have to fast for atleast 6 hours and will be there at Stanford for about 4-6 hours and will need someone to drive me home since this is considered a minor surgical procedure which I'll be under conscious sedation. I made a few calls to the American Cancer Society to get a volunteer from the Road to Recovery program to help with taking me to my appointment and even asked around among my family members to take me. And this time, unfortunately, due to probably the higher gas prices and distance, no volunteer could take me. Luckily, one of calls to my family member, since it's Spring break for his kids, my brother is able to take me. According to Wikipedia, "a port (or portacath) is a device that is surgically inserted under the skin in the upper chest and appears as a bump under the skin. A catheter connects the port to a vein. Under the skin, the port has a septum through which drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times, usually with less discomfort for the patient than a more typical "needle stick". I hope it'll go smooth and that it'll make all my scans, chemo infusions, and blood lab draws pain free and it'll be as comfortable like everyone says it is.
Like any surgery or device, there are always some risks involved. Some of the risks of having a port are, 1)infection, 2) blood cots or Thrombosis - which is a formation of a blood clot in the catheter which may block the device, 3) Arterial injury - The subclavian artery can be inadvertently punctured and 4)Pneumothorax - Attempts to gain access to the subclavian vein or jugular vein can injure the lung, possibly leading to this complication. Then again, "Chemotherapy is often toxic, and can damage skin and muscle tissue, and therefore should not be delivered through these tissues for prolong periods. Portacaths provide a solution, delivering drugs quickly and efficiently through the entire body via the circulatory system."
The timing of getting this port in is perfect because if I didn't have this put in, I'll be poked countless times via IV needle with much pain and discomfort since by now, after 14 months of poking, my veins " have gone bad. I'll be glad to not feel the needle bruising me each time the nurse misses to find a vein and then has to go "fishing" to find a good one.
Also next week, I'll be getting an updated chest and abdomen CT with contract scan again since it's been a little over 2 months since the last one. I'll post an update as soon as I find out the results next week. Let's pray that it'll be good news of either stability or shrinkage.
Kids had a Fun busy Easter weekend
The kids and I had a fun, busy Easter holiday weekend. As soon I got home on Good Friday, I took them to a friend's 4 year old Birthday party at BounceRama. They had a blast at the party jumping on many of the bouncers. Thanks to Jason and his family for inviting us! Then on both Sats and Suns, the kids had a great time hunting for Easter eggs at a friend's party and at church on Sunday. They had a terrific time throughout the whole weekend as I try to keep them busy, spending every moment of quality time together with them, either with friends or with their cousins or family (we visit grandma every Sundays).
Reduced work hours
I can't believe it's April already. Ever since I've been back to work in Feb, time sure flies by so fast. And with realizing that I've been working so much, I've re-prioritized my work and family time and have decided that, at the end of the day, it's spending time with my family that means most to me. So as a way to have a balance of both work and family life, and also to keep my health benefits, I'm fortunate to have a great, caring manager to offer me reduced office face time work hours, meaning, I'll just need to be in the office for approximately 30 hours and then the ability to work from home. That means, on Weds, when I usually head to Stanford for my treatments, I won't be required to be in the office that day and that I get to leave by 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This will be great as it'll give me much more time (besides the weekends) to spend with the kids, taking them to Kumon on Tuesdays and watching all three of them at their swimming lessons on Thursdays. I hope this schedule will be working well permanently for me and of course my team and manager. Lots of Love.
Like any surgery or device, there are always some risks involved. Some of the risks of having a port are, 1)infection, 2) blood cots or Thrombosis - which is a formation of a blood clot in the catheter which may block the device, 3) Arterial injury - The subclavian artery can be inadvertently punctured and 4)Pneumothorax - Attempts to gain access to the subclavian vein or jugular vein can injure the lung, possibly leading to this complication. Then again, "Chemotherapy is often toxic, and can damage skin and muscle tissue, and therefore should not be delivered through these tissues for prolong periods. Portacaths provide a solution, delivering drugs quickly and efficiently through the entire body via the circulatory system."
The timing of getting this port in is perfect because if I didn't have this put in, I'll be poked countless times via IV needle with much pain and discomfort since by now, after 14 months of poking, my veins " have gone bad. I'll be glad to not feel the needle bruising me each time the nurse misses to find a vein and then has to go "fishing" to find a good one.
Also next week, I'll be getting an updated chest and abdomen CT with contract scan again since it's been a little over 2 months since the last one. I'll post an update as soon as I find out the results next week. Let's pray that it'll be good news of either stability or shrinkage.
Kids had a Fun busy Easter weekend
The kids and I had a fun, busy Easter holiday weekend. As soon I got home on Good Friday, I took them to a friend's 4 year old Birthday party at BounceRama. They had a blast at the party jumping on many of the bouncers. Thanks to Jason and his family for inviting us! Then on both Sats and Suns, the kids had a great time hunting for Easter eggs at a friend's party and at church on Sunday. They had a terrific time throughout the whole weekend as I try to keep them busy, spending every moment of quality time together with them, either with friends or with their cousins or family (we visit grandma every Sundays).
Reduced work hours
I can't believe it's April already. Ever since I've been back to work in Feb, time sure flies by so fast. And with realizing that I've been working so much, I've re-prioritized my work and family time and have decided that, at the end of the day, it's spending time with my family that means most to me. So as a way to have a balance of both work and family life, and also to keep my health benefits, I'm fortunate to have a great, caring manager to offer me reduced office face time work hours, meaning, I'll just need to be in the office for approximately 30 hours and then the ability to work from home. That means, on Weds, when I usually head to Stanford for my treatments, I won't be required to be in the office that day and that I get to leave by 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This will be great as it'll give me much more time (besides the weekends) to spend with the kids, taking them to Kumon on Tuesdays and watching all three of them at their swimming lessons on Thursdays. I hope this schedule will be working well permanently for me and of course my team and manager. Lots of Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment