Port Day

We hadn't read much about the port placement procedure because we knew it couldn't be a very fun process. I stayed at my parents' house the night before.

Bright and early on Monday, May 17 we headed to Shadyside Hospital.

In case you're curious about ports, a port is shaped like a disk, and it's implanted under the skin during surgery. It's used for giving IV medicines, fluids, food, or taking blood samples.

The most common place for a port is on the upper chest just below the collarbone. It can also be put in an arm, leg, or abdomen.

The port saves patients from being jabbed with a needle any time bloodwork or treatments are given.

This isn't her x-ray, but this is what it looks like on the inside with a chemo port.

While Mom was having her port placed, I read that it would be done under local anesthesia, and that the surgeon makes a small cut into the area where the port will go. A small flexible catheter is attached to the port, and the tip of the catheter would be placed into her jugular vein and into the atrium of her heart. Not my idea of a fun Monday morning. Poor mom.

After 2 1/2 hours, she was done, and she told me they hadn't put her to sleep. My understanding was that they would use "Twilight Sedation," but she insisted they didn't and that she could feel the pressure and heard everything happening, step by step.

I later read the operative report, and they did, in fact, sedate her with this:

We headed back to her house after a successful port implantation. No showering until after her first round of chemo in 3 days.