PICC Line insertion

So no chemo today, however I got the PICC line inserted , i managed to get the option to have that..and then my first chemo sessions starts on Monday 21st Aug. You are awake through the whole thing. I imagined it was going to hurt a lot but it wasn’t so bad (your pain tolerance threshold increases so quickly through Chemo).

The nurse said the quickest he had done one was 30 seconds the longest nearly an hour! He put his surgical gown on and made a small hole in my arm, then the line went in, threading through my vein up to my shoulder and then I had to turn my head so he could get the line past my shoulder blade and down to my heart. It felt strange and I saw a lot of blood but he managed it in 20 seconds! Yeah a new record!They sent me to get an Xray as the PICC line has to be a certain distance from your heart. Once the chemo was given through the PICC it would run up the vein and free flow out near your heart and around your body. The Xray was ok and they could now tape the line in place

What is a PICC line I hear you ask?

A PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheters) is a long, thin, flexible tube. It is used to give you chemotherapy, take blood and other medicines such as antibiotics should you get an infection. A doctor or nurse puts it into a vein above the bend of your elbow. It can stay in place until your treatment is over.

You will be given a local anaesthetic to numb the area before the PICC line is put in. Your doctor or nurse will gently thread the line along the vein in your arm until it’s in a large vein in your chest. You will have an x-ray to check it’s in the correct position.

The PICC line is held in place by a dressing, which is usually changed every week. The cap at the end of the line is replaced each week to reduce the risk of infection. The line is flushed regularly to prevent it becoming blocked.

I have taken the liberty if taking a photo to show you HOW TOTALLY SEXY it looks...