The Port

I got my port! I am so excited to be able to use it at my next treatment. This experience definitely made me appreciate the idea of timing in all things. If I would have gotten this port at the very beginning of treatment, there's no way I would appreciate it as much as I do now. I was actually against it at first because, to me, it was an extra procedure that would have to be done before I started treatment and I was already feeling pretty inconvenienced. 

In all the research I did about Phlebitis, the most common answer/advice people gave was "GET A PORT." I kind of rolled my eyes at the idea of it because it still was an extra procedure that I had to get done on top of my other appointments. But, the pain in my arm got so bad that I finally got to the point where I begged my doctor for it. The pain was so bad that I had trouble sleeping, and I was constantly alternating heat and ice over my vein to try to sooth it. One night, I woke up in the middle of the night crying and I prayed and prayed that this pain would go away. It didn't. It was frustrating for me because I knew I had faith that this could go away and I could be healed, but the pain continued on. I realize now that God was trying to tell me that I needed this port. If the pain hadn't been as bad and as debilitating as it was, I still wouldn't have it, and the resulting vein damage would have been a lot worse and more permanent. See? Timing in all things. 

My doctor ordered me a port, and I had an appointment to have it put in right before my sixth chemo treatment, so I wouldn't have to use my veins again. The day of my appointments, I got a call from the doctor's office saying they needed to cancel my surgery because a trauma patient came in and it was going to be hours before they could get me in. So, I rescheduled for the next morning at 6:30 am and went to chemo as normal. As soon as the medicine was going through the IV, there was inflammation in my vein. Here is a picture (this is a week post-treatment, but it shows how bad the damage is!) 

The line on the left is the Phlebitis, and that vein has already completely hardened, so they now call it a "cord." 

So, the next morning I got up for my surgery, and everything went AWESOME. My prep room was directly across from the operating room, and since I was the first patient in, they were setting up the room and jamming out to classic rock. I've been saying this entire time that they really need to have music playing when you are getting these procedures done. Especially with PET scans. I met the surgeon and he was really nice and just basically went over the procedure. They put me under conscious sedation, and so I was awake the entire time! They numbed the area, so I really didn't feel anything. We listened to Journey and Foreigner and chatted about the Sacramento Kings, Hodgkins Lymphoma, and The New Orleans Saints. The whole thing probably took about thirty minutes. 

All done! 

Apparently I was sending this selfie to people after, haha! 

So, I get to use the port at my next appointment! Cheers to no more vein damage! 

Back in Action

Sorry! I have totally been MIA. But, I have been keeping busy! Last weekend I went to Light the Night here in Sacramento.

Here I am with my Grandma Carol (who came to visit from Utah last weekend!)

Here I am with my Grandma and Grandpa Eide (who came from the Bay Area)

Here I am with my lantern! The white ones were for cancer patients and survivors.




Light the Night was awesome. Thank you again to everyone who donated! We were able to raise over $1000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am already looking forward to next year! The event was really well done. My team raised enough money so that every member was able to get a wristband for the event. With the wristband, you earned a t-shirt, lantern, and food. We waited to walk in the end of the line, which actually turned out to be a good choice. You could see the parade of people walking toward Downtown Sacramento with all of their lanterns, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Especially with the city buildings behind it all. My picture is kind of hard to see, but you get the idea. The red lanterns were for supporters, family and friends, the white lanterns were for patients and survivors, and the gold lanterns were "in memory of..." It was awesome to see the community come together to support the cause, and to see all of the support for Leukemia and Lymphoma specifically!

I have also been busy with Phlebitis! For those of you who have experienced this, I know you are cringing. Phlebitis is inflammation of the vein, usually due to some sort of trauma. Last week, I started having terrible pain in my arm (specifically my vein), where I had my chemo injected at my last treatment. It lasted for a couple of days and would not go away. In fact, it seemed like it was getting worse. I called the Oncology department, and they wanted me to go in immediately to rule out a blood clot. With my parents at work, luckily my friend Marili was able to take me (and we even went to lunch before to keep my mind off it)! So, I checked into the hospital and had my ultrasound. The technician isn't supposed to give me results, but she did tell me that if something was wrong, they wouldn't let me leave. But... they let me leave. The results were looked over by a different Oncologist (mine had left for the day), and he said there wasn't anything to be worried about and that he checked my file, and I could take ibuprofen. I called my doctor the next day to see if I could get something for the pain and if she could tell me what was going on with my arm, since it wasn't anything they were initially worried about. I only spoke with the receptionist, but she told me my doctor said it was ok to have Aleve and to apply heat to it. I guess with the collection of prescriptions I have already, I really couldn't get anything stronger. I did some research about vein pain after chemotherapy, and I self-diagnosed myself with Phlebitis. I read some other blogs and some discussion boards of other patients who have had it, and with their descriptions of it, I knew that that's what it had to be. My favorites were "it feels like your arm is caught in a deer trap," and "it feels like there is a little double-edged knife that is continually going up your vein." That's really what it feels like. Like spot on. I also found out that the type of chemo that I am on (ABVD), is one of the most damaging to the veins. So, to prevent any more damage or pain, I am going in TOMORROW before chemo #6 to have a port put in! I am excited to know I won't have pain like this again. It was TERRIBLE!


Ready for my ultrasound! But first, a selfe:



Chemo #6 means I will be halfway done with treatment! It has gone really fast so far, so I am hoping with the holidays, and with Nate graduating and moving to CA, the second half will go by just as fast. Thank you again everyone for your thoughts and prayers-- they are working!