RIP Hickman Line

Monday was my last dose of antibiotic and I also saw my consultant whilst at the hospital. He made the decision that it was definitely best to remove and replace my Hickman line, simply to ensure that it did not cause any infection problems at any time during the transplant treatment. As we were hoping that I would be admitted to Glasgow on Thursday, it was important to have a quick turn around - so I was to get my old Hickman line removed that day and it would be replaced the next day.

Removing a Hickman line is not a surgical procedure, so it can be done by a doctor in the ward rather than down in the theatre. However, even though it is not surgical, it's not an easy thing to do. When a Hickman line is inserted, your body forms a band of tissue around it to hold it in place, so the doctor has to break through this layer of tissue. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints of the situation, they were not able to give me sedation. I will not go into much detail, but if you have been following my blog from the beginning, you will remember me telling you that giving a bone marrow graft without sedation is the most painful thing I have ever experienced - Well, I change my mind, this definitely overtakes it. Next time I need to get my Hickman line removed I will definitely have a full on stroppy teenager tantrum until they provide me with my sedation. All I can say is, thank the Lord once again for morphine - I definitely needed it afterwards!

On Tuesday morning I went to the hospital for 8am to wait to have the new Hickman line inserted down in the operating theatre. There was no room for me in my usual ward, so I was put in the surgical ward, in a shared room with 3 other women. This was a weird experience for me because I'm so used to having my own room - it was quite nice having other people to chat to, but it did feel a little strange that I could overhear everyone else's conversations! Anyway, they came to take me down to surgery at about 11am, but when I got down there they were having a medical emergency, so I was sent back up to the ward. At 5pm I finally got the Hickman line inserted, and thanks to a little sedation and some very good nurses, it was pretty easy. My doctor came in at the end to get another bone marrow sample from me, which was a little painful, but overall, it went pretty quickly. In comparison to the day before it was an absolute breeze! The only problem was that you have to fast for the operation, so I didn't eat or drink pretty much all day - I was definitely dying for a piece of toast afterwards.

So, today I have been feeling a little battered and bruised, but happy that all of this is sorted for Glasgow. Plus, we have received the fantastic news that we finally have donor clearance! So - I'll be off to Glasgow tomorrow and my treatment should start on Friday if all goes to plan. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Thank you so much for all your support and good wishes so far - I love you all.

Laura xo