Vampires have no blood!
So I’m prone to a bit of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Blade trilogy and vampire films.
But when a DR/nurse tells you you have such small veins, I didn’t expect to relate to my favourite fanged people as I do right now.
As part of my treatment before starting chemotherapy they needed to do a mammogram, CT scan and MRI scan.
Tonight was my 1st ever CT scan.
I turned up at the hospital on time, to be told you need to drink 7 cups of water.
They then try to fit a cannula into my arm but struggle initially as I have such small veins. Or a lack of.
The nurse then finds a vein and inserts a cannula to which I responded “that’s a bit sore..” she replied “they do to begin with, but you’ll be okay..”
Add tube for the contrast dye, start machine going and then hear all the clicking of the doughnut CT scan machine whirring around. Then all of a sudden I hear “stop stop stop” and everyone comes rushing in.
That was when the tears started. I was like what has happened and panicking and started crying.They ask me if I’m okay, I said yeah my arm hurts a bit but it’s fine.
They reposition the tube and start again and then the machine starts whirring around and then again they all come rushing in.
2 veins collapsed.
Brilliant.
The contrast is all leaked out and in my tissues.
They give me all this safety information and send me on the way.
1hour later, at home. My arm swells and looks like a lamb leg on a Sunday morning. Every hour I measured it and kept cold compress and elevated and straight as best as I could, but I couldn’t even bend my arm!
But when a DR/nurse tells you you have such small veins, I didn’t expect to relate to my favourite fanged people as I do right now.
As part of my treatment before starting chemotherapy they needed to do a mammogram, CT scan and MRI scan.
Tonight was my 1st ever CT scan.
I turned up at the hospital on time, to be told you need to drink 7 cups of water.
They then try to fit a cannula into my arm but struggle initially as I have such small veins. Or a lack of.
The nurse then finds a vein and inserts a cannula to which I responded “that’s a bit sore..” she replied “they do to begin with, but you’ll be okay..”
Add tube for the contrast dye, start machine going and then hear all the clicking of the doughnut CT scan machine whirring around. Then all of a sudden I hear “stop stop stop” and everyone comes rushing in.
That was when the tears started. I was like what has happened and panicking and started crying.They ask me if I’m okay, I said yeah my arm hurts a bit but it’s fine.
They reposition the tube and start again and then the machine starts whirring around and then again they all come rushing in.
2 veins collapsed.
Brilliant.
The contrast is all leaked out and in my tissues.
They give me all this safety information and send me on the way.
1hour later, at home. My arm swells and looks like a lamb leg on a Sunday morning. Every hour I measured it and kept cold compress and elevated and straight as best as I could, but I couldn’t even bend my arm!
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| The photo doesn’t even do it justice! The left is my normal arm - (flabby I know) and the right is my swollen arm - not even at it’s biggest!
My normal arm circumference is about 20cm. The upper arm swelled to 42 at its biggest!
My forearm is normally about 17/18cm and that swelled to 31!
If this is what my body is going to do to me from a simple attempt at cannula how on earth am
I going to withstand a PICC line???
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