Time hoppin’!
Woo hoo! Happy 1st birthday to my Power Port!
I have read on many IBD support pages inquiries on port-a-caths and whether or not they should consider getting one. Let’s face it, kids, our veins are not always the best. I often find myself in an elevator, or in line at the bank and become filled with jealousy when I spot an arm and, or, hand with awesome juicy veins. Lucky! (Yeah, like that’s completely normal! LOL!) When it comes to long-term lines, I’ve pretty much had them all; PICC lines, midlines, Hickman’s and have even had short term lines, such as of the peripheral variety in my feet. I can stand being stuck for an IV about three times, but after that I completely lose it. It’s not the sticking part for me that give me a lot of pain and the heebie jeebies, it is the digging around trying to find a vein that is the real torture. Trying to explain to a nurse that I would much rather have him or her stick me again then going “gold mining” for 15 minutes can be quite the challenge. The funny thing is that many nurses first comment is that my veins, “don’t look that bad.” (As we say in the South, bless their hearts!) Six sticks later they are eating their words. My veins, like myself, are an enigma. (Just a fancy way of calling myself wacky.) lol.
The bruising of multiple failed IV attempts can make you look like you are in a tragic abusive relationship, or like Julia Roberts in that “driving nails in your arms” scene from the film Steel Magnolias. I can’t begin to tell you how many people have mentioned that scene after looking at my arms.
This is why I celebrate my port-a-cath today, and everyday. This is actually my fouth. The longest that I have had one in is seven years, and all of the others were in for years at a time, too. That’s because this Belle has mad sterile technique, yo! I have had two port infections in the 20 years that I have had port-a-caths (both, caught in the hospital, through no fault of my own), so they are definitely carry a risk, but studies have shown that the rate of infection is much lower. This is because, unlike a PICC line or a central line, when you are not using your port there is nothing hanging out of you to get infected. The port-a-cath is under the skin and you don’t even know it’s there.
My port in all of its glory! I was looking for a off the shoulder Flashdance kind of look. I had to skip that iconic scene where Jennifer Beals pulls that chain and she is doused with wateer, because I can’t get my port-a-cath wet.
My poor little port-a-cath has gotten quite the work out lately, due to the fact that I have been on TPN (all of my nutrition intravenously) for the last couple of months. As always, please consult with your doctor concerning which option is best for you.
~Meghan, Belle of the Bowel
Belle of the Bowel 