I'm wearing a gown right now which makes me feel a bit more like a patient than yesterday. I got the Hickman line placed this morning, and my neck is incredibly sore. That line goes into the jugular vein right above the collarbone. The procedure was pretty simple, but there is pain when I try to move my neck or swallow. Its not too awful, but it is a nuisance. After coming out of my vein though, it is tunnelled under the skin and comes out of my body in the chest under the collar line. The lumens that hang down where I get hooked up for IVs are pretty obscure at that position, so it might actually be more comfortable than the PICC line. One of the nurses around here said that the pain will be worse tommorow before getting better, so thats something to look forward to.
I haven't started hydrating yet, but that should come along shortly. After doing that tonight, I'll be ready for the conditioning regimen of chemotherapy tommorow morning. I've just started noticing some of my hair coming back in, and this will probably delay any hair growth for a few more weeks. Oh well...I've gotten used to being bald and hairless.
So most of today has been waiting around. Kate was my only visitor today, and I expect more people to come in tommorow. I'm not experiencing any loneliness, home sickness, cabin fever, or depression over the hospital food yet. Things are mostly boring so far, and I figure thats a good thing.
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