The Port Life

TGIF! What an eventful two days it has been for Team OJ! Yesterday Dad went in for a quick surgery to get his port placed (and don't worry, today's updated comes with many show and tell pictures). After we checked in they took Dad back right away to get blood and let him get changed into his sweet outfit:

The procedure itself was less than an hour, and he was awake the whole time! He did have a drug that made him a little less coherent, but we will just say that he was awake...it adds to his toughness :)

This is what Dad's chest looks like with the port! We were all wondering where the stitches were but the incision is held together with glue not stitches (medicine is so amazing!). He had to wait in the recovery room for an hour and kept trying to charm the nurses to lessen the amount of time he had to sit there...didn't work this time! But it gave us time to look at the reading material they gave us:

This is what the port looks like under the skin

This is the device they use to access the port, the needle goes through the skin and into the port

Here is a combined view. The catheter actually goes from the port, up by his neck and then ends right above the right atrium of the heart.

 

Yesterday was also a first! Go in for surgery, come out and get a parking ticket. When we had arrived in the morning Dad accidentally used the "ambulance only" entrance, and got a ticket for it! At least it was only a warning :)

It was just Dad and I today for chemo...I think some of the nurses didn't realize it was Dad because there wasn't a whole posse accompanying him. Just kidding, they could never forget him! Our favorite nurse Kristine was our nurse again, and let me tell you...she is bomb.com! It is so comforting to have a nurse that has been in oncology for so long, she knows so much and knows exactly how to utilize the port (you would think every nurse would be able to, but after Dad's experience with nurses not being good at finding his veins, we knew that probably isn't the case). Also, the needle that is inserted into the port...that thing doesn't mess around, it's huge!!

Kristine and Dad...She has to freeze the skin over the port so it doesn't hurt when the needle goes in

Sorry this one is so hard to see, but right above the teal circle is where the needle is hooked into the port just like the diagram above.

We were there for about two hours, which was a cake walk compared to the last four chemo's! Dad was such a trooper and was in great spirits and energy the rest of the day so we had a mini father daughter date where we stuffed our face with Chipotle, went shopping, and I graced him with my angelic singing voice in the car. Dad gets a three week break, but I think he is going to need to find a new hobby because he can't golf for a at least a week! Thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers! Have a wonderful weekend!