PICC Line Update

I have been having some issues with my PICC Line. I want to leave an update here to record what has been happening.

I woke up on Tuesday with my PICC site pretty bloody. The blood was working its way out from under the dressing and staining my mesh sleeve.

I called in to Providence Infusion (P.I.P.) and reported the problem and sent along this picture.

They decided to send a nurse to change the dressing and investigate the wound.

Once the nurse arrived, she changed the dressing, was able to get blood to flow out of the secondary hose and all was well. I was instructed to keep an eye on it and look out for signs of infection.

Later that rainy day, we went out and purchased our Christmas tree. Upon arriving home, Susan and I carried the tree from the truck to the Carriage House, where we let it sit over night to dry off. I bring this up because I am not supposed to lift heavy stuff with my PICC Line arm because it could irritate the line.

I lift heavy stuff all the time and haven’t had any problems.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I woke up with a slightly bloody PICC line dressing. Is it possible this was caused by the tree move?  Don’t know, but don’t think so.

I called in to P.I.P. and sent the above picture. They decided that it wasn’t quite as bad and since I was scheduled for my regular weekly dressing change on Thursday, they would wait until then (today) to address the problem.

So Deb showed up today at 9am and changed the dressing, added some sort of anti coagulant pad and as of now, all is well.

I think the problem involves my sleep positions. I like to lay on my stomach and stretch my arms under the pillow and past my head. I think that is causing the line to move and then bleed.

Last night, I made a conscious effort to not extend my right arm past my head. This morning, the wound was no bloodier than when I went to bed last night.

I shall continue to monitor the situation.

Consider yourself updated!

2025-11 BP

 

To TPA, or Not

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and all through the house, everyone was stuffed, even the mouse.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with our close, personal friends, Karen and Randy. It was just the four of us and we ate like kings. It doesn’t take as much food as it used to to eat like a king.

All day long I had been struggling with my Milrinone Pump. The alarm kept sounding alerting that the line had an occlusion…a blockage.

I tried priming the line several times but it never lasted long before the alarm went off again.

I struggled with it all through dinner and then seemed to have it working while we played some games.

Then we got in the car to go home and almost immediately, the alarm went off.

When we got home, the first thing I did was change the pump. That worked for about 5 minutes. Then we decided to change out the whole system, the bag, the tubing and the pump.

That worked for about 7 minutes.

At that point, I called in to the Infusion office and reported the problem.

I got a return call from Nurse Haley shortly after that. She advised us the change lines and then call her back. I did that and the beeping stopped. It’s been quiet all night.

Now they have to send out somebody to assess the line. I got a call this morning from one of the nurses who is on the way. I didn’t catch her name but I’ll find out when she gets here by her name tag.

She said it sounds like I’m going to need the TPA procedure. You can check out my post from August 22nd to get more info about that. The thing of it is I’m going to have to go to an ER to get the TPA.

But first we will wait and see if the nurse can get it unblocked here at the house.

10:45AM: The nurse was successful. I did not get her name because her name tag was facing the wrong way. 

It took a while but after flushing the line very slowly, she was able to clear it and get blood to flow back out.

She switched back to the other line, meant for the milrinone, and flushed the extra line as well. 

So, all is well and I don’t have to go to the ER for TPA.

Hospital Ejection

  I am out of the hospital.

They let me go yesterday afternoon after a rather arduous procedure to put in a new PICC line.

Earlier in the day, a PICC line technician set up in my room to install the line. After much set up and sterilization and a big machine that goes BING!, she couldn’t get the line to go around the corner and down to my heart.

So, they scheduled me for 2:00 to go down to an operating room to do the procedure. Even in there, they had trouble. In the end, they got it in but the doc who did it said my vein was very occluded and it would be difficult to do another PICC line in my right arm.

They won’t do it in my left arm because that’s the side that has the pace maker/defibrilator . 

The main thing is I am out. I am free. I am enjoying every little thing I see and do. There’s nothing like a stay in the hospital to remind you of the simple, wonderful things that are all around us.

Septic, But Not Quite

I’m in the hospital again. This time because I had an infection in my blood they think was caused by my PICC line.

I came in Sunday night.

I had been feeling tired all day. Around 4:30, I started feeling chills. Susan made some chicken noodle soup and I sat down to eat it. I also called in to my Doctors office. I was on the phone with Jonathan, one of Dr. Mooney’s P.A.’s. During the conversation,I suddenly felt nations and I threw up.

At that point, Jonathan said to hit the ER.

During the course of the night, they determined I had a bacterial infection and they were going to keep me. I’m in room 624 with my roommate, Bob. Good guy!

They have removed my PICC line and I’m getting milrinone through an IV.

They are planning on installing a new PICC line tomorrow or Thursday and then I can get out.

The Truck Brake Saga

I had to take my truck to the Brake Store this morning. My brakes are definitely due for replacement. They are making a grinding noise when I come to stop and it’s easily two weeks overdue.

So first thing this morning, I loaded the e-bike into the bed of the truck and took off for Golden Rule Brakes. There were a number of people in line when I got there. I sat down with my coffee and awaited my turn.

When my turn came, I took it. He got all my info and I went out to re-park the truck and unload the bike.

I took off for home. I had a slight problem at the start when I realized the chain had come off the peddle sprocket. I was easily able to reattach the chain. I was only about a mile away from home and there was a break in the rain we’ve had for the last couple of days, so it was going to be an easy ride.

Or not. 

I had ridden a few blocks when I noticed the bike was making an odd sound. It was as if the rear tire was rubbing on the fender. I soon figured out that the tire was losing air. By the time I got to Indiana and Howard, the tire was flat. 

So I had to push the bike home from there. No big deal. It was only a few blocks away from the house. But, with my reduced stamina, it was quite a slog. I had to stop after each block to catch my breath.

I made it home with only my stamina in distress, which I have now recovered.

Now I have to wait for the bad news of how much my brakes are going to cost.

11:27AM: Ooooooh. This is ugly. The grand total for everything they found that needs work on is just short of five grand.

I am having them do the brakes which is going to be $1,800.

The remaining work includes replace front sway bar bushings, replace front struts, and replace rear shocks. The total for all that is about $2,400.

I guess I’m going to get that work done but I’m not sure when.

3:47PM: I just got the truck back and boy is it nice. It stops really well and it doesn’t make that horrible noise. I’ m happy for now.

October BP