If You're Going to Puncture Anything...

More chemo + Collapsed Veins = Port

After six months of chemo, my veins finally threw in the towel. No amount of pep talks was going to convince them to take weekly chemo treatments for three more months. So today's the day. The much dreaded surgery to get a port implanted. And of course I'm too thin to get it in my arm, so I have to get it put in my chest. Sexy, right!?!? I swear, after this, I will seriously be the bionic woman!

And as with all surgeries, there are risks involved. I not only had to read about them in the consent forms I was signing, but I also had to hear about them from my surgeon. (Thank you, lawyers!) But you know what I could have gone without? Having someone tell me that when his grandma got her port implanted, the surgeon punctured her lung. "It was worse than having to get the chemo!" Ummm, seriously?!? Listen guys, just because that specific example was not listed on my top ten list, doesn't mean you should throw it out there and wait to see if it will make it!

But at the end of the day, that comment was actually quite helpful. Because when I met with my surgeon and shared the story with her, I was very clear in my instructions: "Dr. Curcio, if you're going to puncture anything, puncture the implant. And make sure you puncture both of them so there's no issue with insurance when I go in for the bigger implants!"

In all seriousness, I'm not nervous today. But I'll tell you what I am....STARVING!!!! I mean, 4:00 p.m. surgery time!?!?  Really?!?