5-6-2022 – The Chemo Port (Lauren's battle wounds are at the bottom of this posting)

 

Shit is finally starting to get real.  Before today, it was a lot of talking to doctors, listening to doctors, visits to doctors, and people poking and prodding Lauren for tests which all seemed to lack the one question we were looking for an answer to…why Lauren?

 

I think up to today, I was in catastrophe mode.  Trying to get all of our ducks in a row, trying to be that supportive husband, and accepting of what’s going on, but most importantly, making sure Lauren was okay.  It pains me to see Lauren going through this, and for what’s to come, but we are here for each other, forever.

 

With that out of the way, today was a long day.  Luckily, we both got some decent sleep last night knowing we were going to start early today.  Woke up at around 5:30 AM and left the house at 6:00 AM to make our way to Orange Coast Memorial Center in Fountain Valley to have Lauren’s chemo port medically installed near her collar bone.  We arrived at the hospital by 6:30 AM, they admitted Lauren, and by 7:00 AM, off she went with a nurse behind a guarded door.  I left the abnormally small “registration” room and went back to the car to do some work.  Luckily, Lauren had an awesome nurse who went out of her way to make sure I was updated throughout the entire procedure.

 

The procedure in surgically installing the port did not take more than 20 minutes, according to Lauren, however it was the initial IV drip of antibiotics, the local anesthetics, and the cleaning of the incision area which took the majority of the time.  As I was sitting in my car, I finally received a text message from the nurse at around 9:30 AM indicating that the procedure was complete, and that Lauren will be in recovery for the next hour.  Around the same time, I received a text from Lauren saying she was done, and I had asked if she was feeling any pain or nausea, and to my surprise, she said no to both.

 

At 10:30 AM, Lauren sent me a text saying she was ready to be picked up.  To my surprise, she came out in a wheelchair, but I guess it was necessary due to the drugs in her system.  She looked great, had a smile on her face, and off we went back home without any issues.  As of now, she is still not exhibiting any pain or discomfort other than being a little stiff in the neck.  The only oddity she has mentioned is the feeling of the tube in her artery feels like it’s dangling in her throat.  I’m sure as time goes on, we expect that feeling will subside.

 

We plan on taking it easy the next few days so Lauren can heal up and as we both prepare ourselves for Monday, the day our chemotherapy journey begins for the next 5 months.  We keep thinking to ourselves that this will go faster than the time we were living away from our home during renovation, that was 8 months long.

 

To all the mothers, we both wish you a Happy Mother’s Day.

 

Chris