Dr Llewellyn's Amazing Ride

Anyone questioning the tenacity of the medical system need only duplicate my chemo experience of last week to be reassured that doctors and nurses go above and beyond to help their patients. Once again, the nurses at St Mary's failed to access my port-a-cath on the first three attempts. As luck would have it, a new (at least new to me) nurse on the Ambulatory Care Unit looked upon my case as something of a challenge. I soon learned that Cathy (a most appropriate name given that my Cath was acting up) had just completed her own regime of chemotherapy and had her port removed the week prior by the same surgeon who inserted my device. Cathy offered to take me downstairs to St Mary's x-ray department to confirm whether or not the inserted needle had entered the port or simply found a place alongside.

Fortunately, Dr Llewellyn (the radiologist) and his team were between patients when Cathy and I arrived on their doorstep. While Cathy suggested a conventional x-ray, Dr Llewellyn convinced us that a fluroscopic procedure would better suit our purpose. Minutes later, I found myself standing on a small raised platform with my back against a high support attached to an x-ray machine. On Dr Llewellyn's command, I rotated my torso and shoulder so he could view the port and access needle from various angles. Sure enough, the needle was inserted adjacent to the device. It was then that the good doctor suggested an x-ray from a horizontal position, with me lying down. Thinking I had to move to another room to accommodate the change in position (as there was only the vertically positioned x-ray machine in the room in which we were working), I stepped off the small platform, ready to go to the location of the other machine. But Dr Llewellyn told me to stay standing on the platform. I soon learned why. Within seconds, my feet we rising while my head was being gently lowered backwards - turned out I was standing on the footboard of an x-ray table all along and said table was being slowly realigned into its typical horizontal configuration. How cool is that!?! I enthusiastically informed Dr Llewellyn that his x-ray machine trumps the PNE any day. He appeared to be mildly amused.

It was then that Cathy realized what was wrong. She saw the position I was lying in atop the x-ray table and noted that it was quite different from the position the surgeon had us in when inserting our respective port-a-caths. During surgery, our heads were tilted rather far back and lay quite far to one side, and our backs were slightly arched. The resulting posture tightened the upper chest, especially in the region where the port was inserted. As a result, when this posture was taken, the port sat up and flat. In any other position, the port tilted. Cathy had me adjust my position, and she was able to access the port without a problem. Dr Llewellyn marked the access point with indelible ink, and Cathy and I headed back to the ACU for the chemo.

The added stress and strain of the x-ray session heightened my fatigue. I slept for the better part of two days. I did manage to stay awake long enough to check out a new-to-me car (Mom's old car is showing its age too much for even my mechanic's liking). Also took time over the weekend to fete Momzy in the style to which she deserves. Am certainly feeling all that activity and fine dining catching up with me now. Oh, to sleep, perchance to dream.