Power Port

Yesterday’s surgery went really well for Susan. Three years after becoming the proud owner of a BardPort® Plastic Single Lumen Percutaneous Introducer System, she is now the proud owner of an Xcela® Power Injectable Port. Woo-hoo! The only thing she wanted more than the BardPort was the Xcela. And all this time I thought she liked diamonds.

Actually, the port catheter has been a godsend because it provides a ready vein for drawing blood samples and administering IV meds or fluids. Located under her collar bone and tapping a vein close to the heart, there’s more immediate access to the bloodstream than with a peripheral vein in the arm. Unlike a similar catheter called a PICC line, the port catheter is enclosed under the skin so there’s no site maintenance and less infection risk. But with the power port instead of the regular port, she won’t need a separate IV to inject contrast solution for MRI and CT scans. After 45 minutes trying to find a vein in her arm to start an IV, the pre-op nurses easily agreed the power port is a good idea for her.

A lovely post-op smile.

Being with Susan for another procedure yesterday, I’m more proud of my wife than ever for how well she handles pain and inconvenience. She woke up early, couldn’t eat or drink anything, waited in traffic to Westwood, got admitted to the hospital, waited some more, got stuck with needles, waited again, and was wheeled into surgery. Afterward, she had to lay flat for two hours while enjoying an afternoon breakfast of water and graham crackers. Susan gets stuck and injected more times in a year than most people will in a lifetime. She has blood drawn twice daily to check blood sugar. She swallows foul-tasting pills several times each day. Hospital gowns have become her stand-by wardrobe. Sometimes she gets weary of it all, but she doesn’t break down. Sometimes she cries out when she’s tired or in pain, but she’s not a complainer. To her, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better yet. Susan is beautiful. Her strength inspires me.

Here are a couple of one-liners from yesterday. 

• A compassionate nurse was feeling bad for Susan during her ordeal to find a vein for the IV. She wished she could take the pain for her, and assured her that I would too if I could. I said, “I’d be glad to take some of it. I made through childbirth three times without anesthesia.” 
• We heard an obviously distressed child screaming loudly from a room nearby while the nurses worked on Susan. It went on for several minutes until she wondered with concern what was wrong with him. I said, “They just handed him his hospital bill.”

We thank God for the new power port and for answering prayer in bringing Susan through surgery without complications. We’re glad she’s doing well.