I got all excited on Thursday afternoon when the nurse came to tell me that Interventional Radiology (IR) had just called to say that they were able to squeeze me in for a new line. There was a mad 10 minute scramble to get me in a gown and complete the theatre checklist before the porter arrived but then by 3.30pm I was down in IR. But when I got there they weren’t really prepared for what a difficult case I was going to be. They suggested having the line inserted with just local anaesthetic and no sedation.
Ha! Absolutely no bloody way that was happening.
I’ve had 15 Hickman lines in the last 10 years and each insertion creates more and more scar tissue in my chest wall from where the line gets tunnelled. The last line had to be inserted under a general anaesthetic because it was too painful so there was no way I was agreeing to have this one put in without sedation. Wanting sedation created two issues: firstly, I didn’t have a cannula which I would need for them to be able to administer the sedative medication and secondly having sedation means you have to spend longer in recovery afterwards while they monitor you.
Now bearing in mind that IR closes at 5pm we were starting to be up against it time wise. And when at 4.15pm they still hadn’t managed to get a cannula in me we had to be realistic and say it wasn’t going to happen. Past experience tells me that they now need between 10-30 minutes to remove the old line and 30-60 minutes to put the new one in so it was never going to be done by 5pm. This is considerably longer than it would be for someone having their first, second or third line because their chest wall isn’t scarred and their veins aren’t completely knackered.
To be honest although I was a bit disappointed I didn’t mind too much as the consultant that was going to be putting the new line in had put in some of my previous lines and, how can I put it politely, he’s not too gentle. A more accurate description would be that he’s a fucking butcher. But I was willing to grit my teeth and let him crack on because I was so desperate to get home. So the fact that he didn’t do it was a bit of a bonus. They sent me back up to the ward with assurances that I should be on Fridays list and that I would definitely be able to have sedation.
Friday morning came and at 8.45am the porter turned up on the ward to take me to IR. This is the way the NHS works- there’s no notice given, no ‘here’s who we will be taking to IR today and the time we will come and get them’. So again, another mad scramble to gown up and get the paperwork filled out again.
I has been looking after the line that St Marks had given me the week before so off I went to IR clutching the box. This was unusual as normally IR provide the lines but they were still using the bigger lines that have no repair kits at QMC and St Marks had given me the smaller one and a repair kit to keep at home.
I have to say I was absolutely dreading having a new line because the last couple of insertions have been pretty traumatic and incredibly painful. But I knew that I didn’t really have a choice; I had to do it in order to get home. Luckily they had managed to get a cannula in me (or rather after the healthcare assistant and the doctor had had a few goes an anaesthetist finally got one in my shin!) so I was going to be able to have sedation. It was a good job I had shaved my legs!!
I have to say that the IR team were fantastic. I know a lot of the staff down there as I’m one of their ‘frequent fliers’ and they always make me very welcome. It was a different consultant on Friday and he was lovely; he put me at ease straight away doing the consent form. We got into the theatre and he took a look at the veins in my neck and chest and unsurprisingly the ones in my neck are absolutely knackered from all the jugular lines and Hickman line insertions. He found one that he could use and began the procedure and he was so gentle.
He gave me a lot of sedation- in his words I had “enough to knock out an elephant” and I should have been sound asleep. I think my tolerance to the drugs must be quite high as surprise, surprise, it didn’t even touch the sides and I was wide awake! But as far as insertions go it was definitely one of the more pleasant experiences I’ve had.
Normally after a line is inserted you can’t go home until the next day. That’s because they like to use the line overnight to make sure it’s working ok. But because I had been the first one down to IR that day the doctors on the ward said they were happy to run a bag of saline through the line during the afternoon and if everything was ok I would be discharged on Friday night. I was so bloody excited to think I would be able to go home, sleep in my own bed and not have to share a bathroom with anyone! Oh, and of course to see Hubby, the kids and the dog!
By the time the fluids had run through and I had gotten my discharge meds from pharmacy it was after 8pm. I don’t even bother getting changed out of my pjs into clothes anymore. There’s no point as I would literally put my pjs back on the minute I was in the house! So Hubby came to get me and carry the bags to the car and we went home! I was in quite a bit of pain from the new line so after having a bit of time fussing the dog and hugging the kids I went up to bed. I tossed and turned all night and by 4am that was it, I was wide awake from the pain.
So after watching some trashy TV (think Big Rich Texas on Hayu- seriously trashy and 10 years old too!) I got up and went out to do the food shopping. The kids were moaning there was nothing to eat in the house as Hubby hadn’t had time to do a proper shop and was just grabbing bits every couple of days.
So I did a big old shop but then had to go to bed for a few hours. But I’m so happy to be home and able to do these chores that I know most people hate or take for granted. Fingers crossed I stay home for a little while now 🤞🏻
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