FOURTH ROUND OF CHEMO

My 4th round of chemo didn’t go so well.  Since the last two IV pokes were in my left arm I thought it would be a good idea to switch back to my right.  Most all of the other patients in the infusion room take naps but I like to read and study.  It’s hard for me to sit for 3-4 hours at a time and not be doing something.  So I read, study, take notes of what comes to mind that I can use for my next book or I write notes about some other thing that’s on my mind.  I made the mistake of doing a lot of writing that session without realizing I was moving my right arm a lot.

And that’s why I think it’s my fault that the IV pulled out of the vein inside my arm.  At first I noticed a little swelling.  Not much.  Then my arm began to get a little hard and tight and I could really notice the swelling.  When my nurse finally came back into the infusion room it was another patient who got her attention for me.  He was sitting on the other side of the room and could see my distress and told her, “She needs you now!”

The nurse immediately stopped the chemo.  It had infiltrated my whole forearm and started to hurt badly.  The swelling grew so quickly that before I knew what was going on it had already become that bad.  They didn’t blame me but I know it was my own fault.  The veins at this point had already been so damaged and I had no idea that any movement of my arm could cause the IV to slip out of the vein.  

I wasn’t able to leave.  They had me sit there a couple more hours to receive extra IV fluids to help flush out my arm, and we couldn’t finish the chemo either.  This made me apprehensive but they reassured me it would be ok.

They moved me across the room next to the man who had gotten the nurse's attention because there was a plug there for a heating pad.  The heat along with a moist washcloth greatly helped with the pain and swelling.  Moist heat, not dry.  I tried it with just the heating pad and that’s pretty painful.

Now I was getting scheduled to get a chest port.  Darn!  I didn’t want to have to do that but now I had no choice.  There was no way they were going to continue compromising my veins.  The veins were now just too weak to take it anymore and there was no point in risking it.

I thanked the man for getting the nurse’s attention.  We talked the rest of the time, sharing our stories.  He was one of those with a “much worse” colon cancer situation.  His had spread to his liver and his lungs.