Remember that "cleanout" of my port two weeks ago? The surgeon fished a probe up from my groin, clipped away the flap of tissue covering the port's catheter, and we pronounced it good. Fast forward to this Thursday morning - I head to the lab prior to my biweekly basting to get my port accessed for blood work and for treatment. And nothing. No fluids in or out of my port - it's STILL CLOGGED! No wiggling, no twisting, no gyrations seem to make it work. So, helpful patient that I am, I brilliantly remember the "Valsalva maneuver" that has worked before. You hold your nose, purse your lips tightly and attempt to blow out for a few seconds. The resulting pressure in your chest temporarily blocks the blood vessels, and blood builds up. When you release the pressure, the blood rushes through the vessels, and the port is cleared. Except that it didn't work this time - and in a big way. I got really light-headed, and then lost all feeling and control of the left side of my body from my shoulder down to my waist. I couldn't control my left arm - it just flopped at my side limply and I couldn't figure out how to move it. Then it fell down next to me and dropped between the seat cushion and the frame of the chair. I attempted to lift but it jammed in the chair frame, but I couldn't feel it and involuntarily jerked it up and down a few times, making it look like I was having a seizure of some sort, which scared the nurse. She called for Dr. Gold - NOW! They freed my hand from the chair frame and made me squeeze Dr. Gold's hand with both my hands - the right one worked OK, but I couldn't squeeze with the left. Then it was "follow my finger with your eyes" "No, don't turn your head, follow me with your EYES" (duh). Eventually, I regained control of my arm and hand after about 20 minutes, but it kind of screwed up plans for the rest of the day. Up to Radiology for a CT scan - NOW, to see if I had a stroke (probably not, but let's check for sure), or if there was anything else amiss. Back down to the treatment center, and drumroll please.......
The good news is that it wasn't
another metastatic tumor (no, I'm really not shopping around for any more of them...really), which never even occurred to me as a possibility. And it wasn't a stroke, but it was sort of like a little one - it's called a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), which is a temporary, but reversible stroke. I apparently triggered it with my attempt to be helpful with the Valsalva maneuver. I'm going back to radiology next week for some more scans - MRI and MRA (magnetic resonance imaging and angiography) on my head, and CT scan of my abdomen to see what Heckyll and Jeckyll (my two big liver tumors) are up to. I can't wait to see the pictures.
And since the port is clogged up, I may get the chance to get that spiffy new titanium model installed anyway (
insert audio clip of cash register ringing here). With no working port, it was back to another peripheral IV this week, but I didn't get the full nuclear option - only the Erbitux. The Avastin is out since it may make any possible vascular problems more problematic. Silent Bob also gets the next few days off as well.
So, now for this week's thank you's and apologies. Thanks to Kevin for getting the IV started with skill. Big thanks and special apologies to nurse Jennifer D. for acting quickly in making sure that I wasn't having a stroke and for wheeling me up to radiology - I feel badly for making your morning more exciting than necessary. And likewise to Dr. Gold - really, I'm not trying to be difficult - you're the boss. Just don't make me stay after and write on the blackboard "I will behave and not scare the nurses" one hundred times. And to all the nurses in the lab and treatment center - I really appreciate all that you do every time I visit.
I'll have to admit, I'm disappointed that this little complication has happened. I was pretty optimistic this morning when I went in - newly cleaned out port and all, and it just didn't turn out that way. Oh well... back to the old drawing board.
