CHEMO DAY 2 OF 20

A little housekeeping --

1. For those of you new to the blog, the very simplified background is that we discovered Dave has metastatic melanoma, Stage IIIC, and is undergoing chemo (more accurately immunotherapy) to hopefully kill off any remaining melanoma cells in his body.

2. I learn as the days go on.  Today I learned the 'vein pick'/'pick line' is actually a "PICC line" (peripherally inserted central catheter).  You will just have to bear with me as I spread my misinformation then try to correct it.

3. I don't intend to write every day, as I hope the daily visits to the Anderson Cancer Institute become routine and uneventful. When there is something I think is interesting, I'll write.

Now for the update --

Dave had a good night last night and felt just the slightest bit achy this morning, but after taking Tylenol he felt fine.  He did not need his additional nausea medicine last night.

With a tourniquet on his arm awaiting the ultrasound.

I think this is my first selfie.
If I wanted to watch Dave
getting the picc, I had to
wear the mask.  Or maybe the
nurse thought I had bad breath.

We left this morning in the pouring rain for a 7:30 AM appointment to get his PICC line.  We thought it would be easier on Dave and his veins to get one since he has to have IVs for 20 days.  I dropped him off at the door to Radiology (Memorial University Hospital), where he would get the picc, and I parked the car by the Anderson Cancer Institute.  The parking lot was flooded and there was no hope of keeping my feet dry.  Once in the ACI, there was no one around to give directions to Radiology, most of the hallway doors were closed, I kept running into dead ends, so I had to go back out in the rain to get to the place where I dropped Dave off.  Oh well, such a minor problem.

The PICC in Dave's arm.

Between the paperwork, sterile preps and the actual insertion, about an hour went by.  I am so unfamiliar with hospital procedures, I thought it would take about 5 minutes.  I learn as I go!

The tube inside Dave's arm is 28 cm (about 11 inches) long and goes to the basilic vein, a large vein in his chest near the heart.  An ultrasound was used to locate the vein it was going in, then the nurse just pushed it in.  Oh my.  The line needs to be flushed with heparin daily, but I'll have to do it only on the weekend, as otherwise the nurses in the chemo treatment center will do it. Thank goodness.  I get squeamish about this bloody stuff.

Dave was able to start his daily infusion about 9 AM.  He was almost finished but about noon he started getting cold and suddenly had the shakes.  He kept asking for blankets, and ended up with three on him, all doubled, another folded up on his chest, a zip-lock bag of hot cloths on his chest, and the vest he brought for warmth.  I even texted Chad to see if he had a jacket in his office.  Dave was given more Benedryl and hot tea, but he was shaking everywhere, his feet, his hands, his lips...  The nurse then gave him Demerol, and in about 2 minutes he was out.  Totally relaxed and asleep.  One of the other patients heard me say I'll bring a warmer jacket for him from now on, and he said we should bring a cap, and wool socks, too.  It was scary to me, but the nurses said this is not an uncommon side effect.  When Dave came to, he could hardly speak as his tongue wouldn't work.  I felt so sorry for him but I was also laughing.  He kept asking how to flush his picc line (which I wasn't going to worry about until Friday).  He also said if there's an outlet, he wants to bring an electric blanket.  He was given extra fluids to wash out some of the drugs, and we were finally on our way home at 1:15.  Whew.

Dave ate a bowl of soup when we came home, and now he's napping.  The nurses told us again Dave needs to keep the Tylenol in his system around the clock, but not to wake him up to take it.  I'll make sure it's handy in case he wakes up at night.