Recovery at home and PICC Line vs. Port

Recovery from Surgery

After discharge from St. Joe's I recovered at home from the surgery. Although what many say about how much  quicker someone will heal once outside of the hospital environment is very very true I can honestly say I remained surprised at how slow was my recovery from surgery despite being in relatively good physical condition and health before the surgery.  But then again should I really have been surprised...I need to accept that colon resection surgery is major surgery that cuts through adominal, core muscles and THAT takes time to heal.

The pain from the incision was really quite manageable...I only relied on narcotics for a very short period of time at home.   After the staples were removed they no longer would catch on my clothing so that helped immensely.  But what was pretty intense and has still not disappeared although has abated is the sensitivity of the scar.  Apparently this is common...and could be permanent as the nerves are damaged.  Anyway it is manageable now and besides I treat the scar as a battle wound.  A badge of honour if you will...as I do my PICC line as well.

My recovery at home was certainly bolstered by all the words and actions of support from friends and family whether it be food drop-offs for Victoria and I, emails, cards, notes, visits, phone calls, Facebook messages, etc.  I recovered well enough to thoroughly enjoy my wedding day on Saturday April 21 and even could dance a little bit with my new bride and our wedding guests!!!!  I am so grateful to Dr. Hart for rushing me into surgery to give me an opportunity to recover in time for the wedding...so grateful that Victoria and I invited Dr. Hart to our wedding (which unfortunately he could not attend).  It removed so much stress from us when we knew that we didn't have to postpone the wedding and that all our planning and work would be realized.

PICC line versus Port

Prior to starting the chemotherapy in May, I visited St. Joe's once again to have a PICC line (peripheral intravenous central catheter) inserted into my upper right arm under the bicep.  The PICC line has two ports coming out of the main line that inside the vein in my arm drains into to the heart for immediate pumping out to the body.  It allows the vein in my arm to not be destroyed by the toxicity of the chemo drugs.  The procedure itself wasn't that bad at all...not as painful as you may think and was over in a matter of 20 minutes or so.  The PICC line allows for drugs to be intravenously administered for weeks and months without having to have an IV put in my hand or arm every two weeks...for six months.  Unfortunately the PICC line also means home nursing requirements (3 times a week) to clean the picc site and change the dressing once a week, flush the ports etc.  It also is a royal pain in the ass to shower - I rely on my wife to wrap my arm up in Saran Wrap and tape just to have a shower.  Swimming is out.  Hot tubs are a definite no.

So...at my first meeting with the Oncology team prior to my first treatment, a suggestion was made to consider having a port-a-cath installed instead.  The port a cath is surgically implanted under the skin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_(medical) and as such allows patients to freely swim or have showers and can be removed after the treatment course is over.....and so...I have a requisition to have a port-a-cath implanted the third week of june prior to my fourth chemo treatment.  I can't wait!!!!!! No longer will I have to cover up my arm in public...I will be able to enjoy swimming and boating at the family cottage this summer....and less nurse visits to home to change dressings and flush lines.  

My next post will talk about the wonderful Oncology team that I am working with, the FOLFOX treatments and the numerous side-effects that I navigate through daily.