December 6, 2006

Last Thursday I had what’s called a “Mediport” implanted in my chest. This is a device that’s used to inject the chemotherapy drugs into a main artery.

The small round part of the device, as shown in the graphic, sits just below the skin and is where the injections will be administered. The entire device is internal, so I don’t have to do anything with it.

Having the device implanted turned out to be more complicated than usual. Part way through the procedure, even though I was under general anesthesia, I started coughing. This was caused by a chronic bronchial condition that occurs when I get a cold. The coughing was enough of a problem that the surgeon had to stop the procedure so he could bring in an inhalation therapist to get my cough under control.

By the time the coughing problem was contained, the Mediport tube was filled with fluid, so the surgeon had to pull it out and start over again. The planned twenty-minute procedure ended up taking more than an hour.

While I was still sedated, my daughter was told that I might have to remain in the hospital for the night. Knowing me as she does, she told me later that she didn’t want to be there when they told me. Then she got lucky. By the time I woke up, the doctors had decided that I could leave.

Coming out of the procedure I felt like I had been kicked in the chest by mule. Thankfully, the pain medications I was given helped a lot. It took me a few days to shake off the effects of the anesthesia and to taper down the pain medication, but now I’m feeling much better.

Tomorrow is my first round of chemo. I will post an update here as soon as I feel up to it – which I’m hoping will be real soon!