Central Line

Hi all,

Well... I've had my central line fitted. It was a very quick and painless process. Very cool and clever.

We had a good chat about what the potential issues may be with it - such as bruising and missing the actual vein. Then the more serious issues of blood clots and infection... which are very rare.

After Andrew got scrubbed up he then allowed Kylie to sit across me. Sadly - it wasn't the Australian Kylie, but that's the name of the white sheet that goes across me to catch any blood ;) I guess I can dream though!

Next - he got the the ultra sound on my arm to look for the best vein to insert the line in to. It's actually 2 lines so they can mix the chemicals when required. He (Andrew Jackson - Adrian Edmonson look-a-like and a very very nice bloke) was looking for "circles" in my arm as they are the veins that the line would thread through. The first one he found was an artery - you could see it pulsing and not one to use as it would have been quite messy ;)

Then he showed me the actual vein he would go in through, in my right bicep. When he pressed on it you could see it squash and was I think about 1.5cm in to my arm.

Next - came the local anaesthetic and then off he went... inserting long wires and then a small incision before passing the actual line through. the line runs from my right bicep, up the arm and across in to my chest - about 2.5cm in.

Once all that was done - and cleaned up he then took me for an X-RAY to make sure the line was in the right place, which it is.

So - if Andrew is reading this... thanks again, fully enjoyed our chats about anything and everything and especially for getting Kylie to sit across me ;) Maybe you could email me some more technical terms for what I've been trying to explain.

OK folks, that about covers it. Catch up with you tomorrow.

Nick x