Iron Infusion # 6

My last infusion appt was yesterday. It was rough going, even with the best nurse in the clinic helping.
I got there early and got both arms heat packed first thing. I have one vein in my left arm that we have hit several times. It came right to the surface, only to disappear when the needle went in. Try #1 was no good. Erin had left my other arm heat packed in the event we missed. She worked my arm over good, just trying to find a spot that would be good to go. She found one, but it went in and collapsed. Try #2 was no good, and Erin was done too. The rule on the floor is that each nurse only gets 2 attempts and then they have to turn it over to someone else.

They heat packed my arms again, and really cranked things up, and called in another nurse from the floor. All the while the sweet nurses from the clinic walking by with expectant looks on their faces, only to have them be as sad as I was that we hadnt gotten a line in yet.

Attempt #3 was made with a larger gauge needle with the hope to get it in to stay. It was very painful and ended up another failure. My other arm had remained in heat packs just in case. Attempt #4 was enough to make me about jump right out of the chair. The nurse had to keep digging a bit too. The vein froze up, but hoping it was actually in, they let it sit for a couple minutes and I tried to relax. Erin came back over to run the line, and the saline taste in my mouth told them it was probably good to go. Erin got everything hooked up, and even though it stung like crazy, it was in, and we went for the rest. All this took about 90 minutes to finally get things in place.

I was hoping to get some work done, but after the line ended up in my right arm, it was out of commission. I tried to read for awhile, but just couldnt concentrate. I have noticed this week that I have been extremely fatigued, sluggish, and that my brain has just been extra fuzzy. I was also freezing yesterday. Erin piled on the heated blankets and got me a pillow and I took a nap for about an hour - I have never done that before. I tried to read a bit, but just couldnt concentrate on anything. By 1230pm I was finally done. Both arms were very sore, and I am sure that they will be for awhile. It will be interesting to see what kind of bruises show up.

Thankfully I will get a little break from getting poked again. Dr Lee's medical assistant was in the clinic and I was able to check in with him about the plan for my labs and next appt. Dr Lee put my lab appt out until March 1 and my appt on March 7. This will give me a good couple of weeks to rest and recoup a bit before the lab draw - which is a big, difficult one. Another blessing came with the names of the best IV people in the lab from the clinic nurses. Brownwynn made a special trip to the lab just for me to make sure I had the names of the best people to help me next month.

It has been a very hard 6 weeks. I am hoping that all that I have been through will strengthen my weaknesses in many ways, and not just physically. I have been very blessed to have the most wonderful nurses and care during my appts. I have also gained a great empathy and understanding of those who have even greater health needs than I do. I wont know until next month what my labs look like. It will be a bit hard to wait, wondering and hoping that what I have been doing is making a difference. Patience is something else that I am trying to learn.

I am very thankful for all the amazing care I have received, but I know that I am also thankful to be done with appts. I will write again about medical etc after my other appts next month.