12. PICC Line and Covid Swab

With less than 4 days to go before my treatment I needed to have my PICC line fitted.

Like everyone does nowadays, I googled what it involved. The only trouble with google it always looks scarier than it actually is.

So to the hospital, I was told it would be about 2 hours so sent Dan away. I went to the Macmillan Ward and Jo the Trials Nurse popped by to say Hi. Then I went into a room with 2 ladies, not sure what their titles were. One was a nurse, not sure on the other one. We started chatting about my hair colour as at the time is was multi coloured.

We then ran through the consent forms and how the procedure would go. She said the thing that takes the longest is her gowning up as it is like mini surgery so everything need to be sterile.

I laid on the bed while she got ready, the other nurse chatting to me and covering me in those blue sheets.

Once ready she done an ultrasound on my arm to find a good vein. Luckily she found one straight away. The trouble was she was going to have to cut into my XR2 tattoo. She was very apologetic about that! She said she would aim for the bumper so it doesn’t mark it too much!

Then it was a local anesthetic in the arm and a small incision then the PICC line is threaded through a long needle into a large vein that leads to the heart. The needle is removed at the same time, leaving the line in place.

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/types-of-treatment/chemotherapy/picc-lines

My PICC line was fitted with a securacath, which helps the line stay in place as it has a little metal clip under the skin.

The put then a dressing over the top of it to keep it sterile. The dressing is changed weekly and the line is flushed to make sure it stays clean and no clots form at the end.

The actual procedure took less than 2 hours, probably just over an hour. So I called Dan to come and get me.

It pinched a bit and felt a little uncomfortable for a few days, but today I hardly notice it.

I had to go back the day after it was fitted to get it flushed and a change of dressing. All was ok and they were happy with it.

Last thing to do before chemo was getting a Covid Swab. I’ve had one before so I knew what to expect. Drive through swab done as Yeovil Hospital, and no news is good news.