When things go smoothly, I'm in and out of the infusion lab in 20 to 25 minutes on a Saturday - clean up the old dressing, change the dressing, take some blood... on your way, sonny. Last week, they couldn't draw blood, so I had to sit and wait until the blockage dissolved, this week was a bit more worrying!
Taking off the dressing, the nurse asked "Has this been itching?" to which I replied "Yeah, a bit, but not badly." I looked down to see that the circular pad that covers the point where the picc line enters me was soaked in red stuff, and the skin all around was glowing a worrying colour!
The nurse called over another nurse and they tutted and worried for a bit, before getting on the phone to the picc line specialist. After a short wait a little lady called Rene showed up - she looked like Benny the Ball out of Top Cat, and was just as jolly. It seems some moisture must have got under the dressing and there was the beginnings of a fungal infection around the insertion point - this is not a good thing, as the picc line is pointed right at the heart, so if the area gets infected, it is going to spread very quickly. Anyway, they calmly and efficiently dealt with it - covering the area with a huge, heart-shaped, anti-bacterial pad which will hopefully calm down the infected area. I'm due in again on Monday for the re-connection of the pump, so they will review it then and decide whether it needs any more treatment or not.
When these things happen, my default mode is panic - fortunately the staff at the hospital are so calm and matter of fact about things that they diffuse the panic immediately. They called the specialist, who was happily there on a Saturday, and decided on the appropriate course of action right there and then! I have nothing but praise for these people - it must be a horribly emotional room to work it, there are people in way worse situations than me that they have to deal with all day everyday, but they are professional, respectful and maintain a great sense of humour throughout!
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