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9.14.2013

Cancer Update: Houston, we've got a problem. Mediport totally blocked internally. I'm getting tired of being sick. Whine.

Cancer update (1 of 2): the Mediport totally blocked.  Major leakage for 6 hours.  Infusion stopped with 42 CC's to go.

Even on the bus back from the hospital I'm not sure the port felt right after the pump was attached.  I'm surely not saying anyone did anything incorrectly. Not at all.  It just felt uncomfortable from the start. I think.  Chemo-brain.  :-(

The pump was attached by 5:30 PM Thursday.

At about noon on Friday the pump started beeping.  I checked the tubing, found nothing problematic, but the beeping stopped.  Within the hour there were two similar incidents.  Once it seemed to stop when I stretched my arm back, and I wondered if there was a problem in the port.  I called Medstar, and was given another number to call, but in the meantime the beepings stopped, so I did not bother.

At about 3:00 AM I awoke to find that my pelvic area was wet.  The fluid had no odor, and the consistency AM, much wetter now, that I saw it was the pump leaking at the flat plastic filter.

I called Georgetown Hosp and Medstar.  By 2:00 PM the replacement plastic tubing had arrived from the pharmacy, and the Medstar home infusion nurse arrived.

The nurse replaced the tubing, and attempted to flush my port.  The saline solutions syringe for the flushing is quite large, the male nurse quite strong, and no matter how hard he pushed no fluid would go in.

Twice he replaced the needle going into the port.  Ouch.  OUCH.  By the second time he was able to push some fluid in but unable to draw any blood back out.  He, and everyone in this is performed very well in my view.

But I told him that unless so ordered by Georgetown Medical I thought we should not try again.  He called the Georgetown Dr. on call who concurred.

So, of the 46 hour infusion, it seems that no more than 34 hours' worth entered me.

I'm getting tired of being sick.  Whine.

I'm immensely grateful for, and impressed with, the performance of all the medical team that is helping me.

Thank you all so much.

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