The Port

My parents volunteered to taxi me to LHCP for the port installation. My father recently had a procedure under conscious sedation and he has no recollection of the time after the procedure through the afternoon. I found this striking so we decided to experiment a little and see what will happen to me. While waiting for the surgery we were able to catch up and have some laughs. The nurse asked me what side I wanted the port to be placed, right or left. After I gave her a quizical look, she said, "Do you hunt? It's important to most guys" My shrinking manhood made an audible squeek. They installed the IV and eventually wheeled me in early no less. I chatted with the nurses who were prepping me because I enjoy the fact that talking about cancer and all the procedures with them is what they do. They don't shy away from much and that provides confidence to me.

They covered up my head after starting the push which felt cold compared to the contrast during CTs. I was awake and thinking that they were just prepping the device for insertion. It certainly didn't feel like a 45 minute procedure but I didn't feel a thing nor did I feel exceptionally groggy. They wheeled me back to recovery and my parents came over. I explained that I felt remarkably lucid. I ate some crackers and guzzled a large glass of ice water. We chatted for about an hour. I got dressed and walked myself out. This was nothing.

The image shows the bandage and I'll post an update when you can actually see the little device under my skin. The insertion doc explained that they will leave it in for as long as it is required because they don't want to install another one later. So I am now the host of a little, plastic, purple port.

I just called my folks...what did we talk about this afternoon?