Graduation! No more port!

Seems strange...I wept after my biospies but did just fine following my port removal. God is good! I had THE most wonderful nurse. It took about 2 hours before I had the surgery done and once the doctor began start to finish was only about 20 minutes. Here is the procedure: I had to take everything off. Top and bra obviously, but earrings, necklace and jeans as well. The jeans had metal on them and you couldn't have any metal on you. So everything went into a large shopping bag. I laid on the gurney and she covered me up so I wouldn't get cold. I was offered an anxiety medication to calm me and make me drowsy. They order it standard for everyone so it can be given right away, but I waived mine. I asked if it would help with pain and the answer was no, so I said, Nah. Signed all the consent forms, then got prepped. First she did the alcohol swab all over my chest and neck. Strong stuff! Then, she put one of those large blue surgical blankets on me. It has an opening in it that goes over the port area. It also has some kind of sticky seal on it to keep it attached to your body. Oh yea, before this she put a ground on me. It was in a packet..she unwrapped it...it was a large rectangular piece that attached to my right upper thigh. It was SOOOO cold! But they may use this machine to help get out the port and you needed to be grounded in case.

The doctor came in and explained what would happen and got started. First, he covered my face with the top of the blue blanket and said I wouldn't want to see the needles or knife or anything! I agreed!! He numbed the area with Lidocaine and said it would burn. I told him I had just had some yesterday! And yes, it burned again! He numbed it in several areas and started in. They go in through the same scar and said if needed they would make it a little longer. I could feel tugging and working, but no real pain. He did use the machine. It left a burnt smell and I could feel tapping as it did whatever it was doing! He asked if I was doing OK and I told him I was singing Christmas carols. Ever so often I would feel the tapping and say a short Ouch to let them know I could feel something! And immediately he would put in some more Lidocaine and tell me it would burn. lol He did have to make the incision a little longer and it eventually came out. He then stitched the area back up and put sterry strips over that.

Of course at the time it didn't hurt at all, but by the time we were headed back it ached. By the time we passed by the school (had to get ready for Christmas party) it ached a lot. Took some Tylenol and it got better, but it is VERY achy at the moment.

OH! MD is SO incredibly large. There are a zillion waiting rooms for both patients and family. Graland was waiting for me in the waiting room and when I came back out (from a different door) and called his name a man came up to us and said Hey neighbor! lol It was the fellow and his wife from down the street! The SAME waiting room! I couldn't believe it! So we visited for a while and gave the wife the rundown on what just happened. She was there to get a pit removed (had an infection and was taking antibiotics through it). I told her it wasn't bad at all.