I arrived at the surgeon's office a few minutes early for my appointment, and they were able to get me in right away--which was good because I was supposed to be at the appointment with the Chemo Nurse an hour later. I met with the surgeon's NP who provided me with all of the information about the procedure. I am having a Power Port implanted into the front of my chest on the left side. The port will enable my medical team to have access to a large vein that dumps directly into my heart. The upside of the port is that I won't have to be poked to have blood drawn or IVs anymore because the port will provide adequate access. The procedure is supposed to take an hour, so I should be home by noon (it starts at 7).
The appointment with the Chemo Nurse went as well as it could have. Arla (who is WONDERFUL) spent most of the meeting warning us about the side effects of the chemo treatment and what to expect. She also warned us about the dangers of taking "supplemental medications" with the chemo regiment that I will be on...unless I want to be a guinea pig for science (I declined).
So here's what's up for this week: Wednesday, I have the tests to determine the strength of my lungs and my heart. On Friday, I'll have the port put in which means plenty of rest and no lifting over the weekend. I hope to have more for you Wednesday, but Friday at the latest.
-bw
Thanks again Bryan,
ReplyDeleteWe are following your progress, and confident that you are in control
of all your procedures and instructions. We will be leaving for home
Friday, Mar.27, but will be keeping in touch on the way home with either
Don and Jode, or Kevin and Patti, who will relate to us any further news.
We love you both "to bits", and think of you every morning during devo-tions and your Wonderful CrossWord collection you sent me. THANK YOU,
again and again.----Grandma VB