Day 255: Fishing in Vein

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - I started to worry the night before when I was talking to Trey and he said "Do they go through the heart to get to the broken piece in the pulmonary artery? " Hmmm, I thought, it sounded so easy and very positive when it was explained to me, "I don't know?" Those words and the idea of a surgery tied me to a restless night of sleep. Madeline was fine. She woke herself up at 3 am to eat a peanut butter sandwich so she wouldn't feel sick the next day, then slept until 9 (a rarity), then wrapped her arm to take a shower. Her arm had a line in it from the Mondays procedure when they found her existing port unusable.

I had a bit of a panic attack when the fellow (the fellows are new doctors who study for a year in a specific area of medicine and are typically very young) in charge of the surgery explained the risks. He mentioned that yes, they do go through the heart, and he thought there was a 50% chance that they could extract the piece and otherwise it would stay there and Mady would have to have x-rays taken a few times a year to make sure it wasn't causing problems. WHATTTTT!!! Well, odds are always negotiable, and the previous doctor, when asked, put the number much higher. The fellow also mentioned that Madeline might need a pacemaker if the procedure caused an arrhythmia in her heart that they couldn't correct, although it was a small chance. They give you all of the fine print in large bold strokes and you sign saying you understand the consequences right before surgery or the use of anaesthesia. And we gladly sign considering the options.

My sister came up to sit with me while waiting for Madeline, and within an hour Dr. Wicky came out to tell us that they had successfully removed the piece of port and it would take another hour and a half to place the new port, and finally, remove the old port. We met Madeline down in post-op in a very full recovery room, and escorted her upstairs to Ellison 18 where we stayed the night. She is doing just fine, although this port goes into her jugular vein and it's causing her a great deal of pain right now.

I asked on Monday how many i-tunes were all the pokes worth (they had to dig a needle and search for a vein 5 times). She asked me what I thought it was worth and I answered that I know I would low-ball it since I hadn't gone through the pain, so she should tell me.

After her new port placement, removal of the old port and her 'fishing in vein' expedition, I asked her the same question. The number was much higher. We'll gladly pay it. She is amazing. She has gone through so much and she is so strong and we are so proud of her. Love. Chris