IS THERE SUCH A THING?

At the start of the day, Kristin and I resolved ourselves to the fact that she would be held hostage for at least two more days as per the resident who spoke with us. There were no improvements on her labs today and the resident said she wanted to see a little more improvement before she went home. Together we conjured up a whirlwind of top notch activities. "we could catch up on the OC, take naps, lots of naps, change the sheets, google gross pictures of pseudomonas', order take out from food service,(actually they do a pretty darn good job if you were to compare this hospital to the others we've frequented), wait with anticipation for Oprah, maybe another nap, zzzzzzzzzz. Then, there was a whisper of good news...maybe. Evidently the resident was not quite right. Nay, the attending had other ideas. Since the cultures were negative, she had been afebrile (without fever) for 24 hours, and the abcess was not worsening, they felt it was safe to send her home. Even with an ANC of O, zip, nada, zilch! Home yes, but not without fanfare. Remember the PICC line that was inserted yesterday? I know I did not elaborate yesterday, but it was decided that it would be best for Kristin to have this procedure done. Her veins were shot and she could not tolerate any more of the meds, not even a saline flush in any of the three iv's that had been already been inserted. Every flush, and antibiotic infusion brought pain and tears. Since she was going to need buckets of antibiotics the docs decided to insert a PICC line. This way she could go home with the iv antibiotics. If not, she would need to stay in the hospital for at least another week. So, back to business..... What the heck is a PICC line? As per the acronym, it is a peripherally inserted central catheter. It was proposed that it would be done under conscious sedation. Just the thought of the procedure made her very, very nervous as this kind of sedation was an unknown to her. No OR nor general anesthesia! She could not imagine being able to be calm enough for such a task. Honestly, I would feel the same way. We put headphones on her and then she was given Versed and Fentanyl. These good guys induced an altered state of awareness. After the room and vicitm were carefully prepped, she blissfully drifted into the perfect conscious sedation with a sinister, smirkish smile on her face. A thin, long and flexible tube was guided through a large vein in the upper arm via an ultrasound. (Nate got a bit woozie and had to leave the room) It was skillfully directed until it came to rest in the superior vena cava, a large vein in the upper part of the heart. An xray was used to confirm the location. Unlike the broviac catheter she had for a year and a half, this one is inserted into the upper arm. It is ideal for prolonged iv needs and less invasive than other central lines. So, she is home. (Georgia, thank you so very much for taking us home!!!! Have fun in Hawaii and we love you tons) Right at this moment, we are waiting for her home meds and supplies to be delivered to her apartment. She will be using a portable pump for the next week to administer the antibiotcs. A nurse will come to draw labs twice a week. I know, more fun than a college freshman can handle! I will stay here with her until I feel comfortable leaving. Is there such a thing?