The Port That Won't Go Away
I went to the hospital yesterday happily believing I was going to have my hideous port removed. I had been counting the days since I made the appointment for the surgery six weeks ago, eager beyond words to get this ugly uncomfortable protuberance cut out of my chest wall. Especially because I can't get back to lifting serious weights as long as it's dangling its big thick dangerous catheter into my superior vena cava.
But alas, it turned out this long awaited moment was only to be a consultation with a surgeon to obtain approval to have the damn thing yanked out. The actual removal is still many weeks away.
I was seriously bummed, to say the least. This is just one of the many drawbacks of the public charity hospital: nothing is ever simple, nothing is ever quick, nothing ever goes smoothly, everything is always wrapped in five thousand layers of sticky inefficient red tape. But at least I did get the approval, and the surgeon, who was disconcertingly young and hot, had a wry sense of humor and actually treated me like an intelligent life form.
I don't have any say in when I will finally have the thing taken out, the hospital is going to send me an arbitrary appointment in the mail. It will probably be a few weeks, but possibly a few months or more. Big drag.
But! Just look at the front yard that greeted me when I came home. One can only wallow in bitter disappointment for so long when surrounded by this riot of exuberant technicolor:
But alas, it turned out this long awaited moment was only to be a consultation with a surgeon to obtain approval to have the damn thing yanked out. The actual removal is still many weeks away.
I was seriously bummed, to say the least. This is just one of the many drawbacks of the public charity hospital: nothing is ever simple, nothing is ever quick, nothing ever goes smoothly, everything is always wrapped in five thousand layers of sticky inefficient red tape. But at least I did get the approval, and the surgeon, who was disconcertingly young and hot, had a wry sense of humor and actually treated me like an intelligent life form.
I don't have any say in when I will finally have the thing taken out, the hospital is going to send me an arbitrary appointment in the mail. It will probably be a few weeks, but possibly a few months or more. Big drag.
But! Just look at the front yard that greeted me when I came home. One can only wallow in bitter disappointment for so long when surrounded by this riot of exuberant technicolor:
posted by Lymphopo at Wednesday, May 02, 2007
13 Comments:
I LOVE your flowers. I'm just starting to learn about gardening since we just moved into a new (well, our first) house and I'm always envious of your garden. Plus here in the Northeast, the color explosion is a little late.
And on an unrelated note...you're one of the coolest people I've ever read on the internets, possibly up there with Twisty. Keep writing, you're a fabulous writer! And hey, get a book out of it, why not. I'd buy it!
I just found your blog today, too. And yes, the flowers are simply beautiful. I live in MN, my perenials are JUST beginning to pop their little heads out of the soil.
My best friend, age 43, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma. I'm so happy that you are a survivor of this cancer. My friend didn't fight it. She chose not to try chemo and the cancer took her quickly. I love reading of your spirit, your sense of humor, your love of life. I can't wait to read more. Thank you for sharing your experiences, I am enjoying reading you very much. Your hair looks awesome!
I'm sorry your port wasn't removed today as you had anticipated. But it will be :)
Your flowers are so gorgeous! I love looking at them.
I hope you get a port removal appointment really soon!
OMG your garden is gorgeous. I wish I had half of your green fingers. If you are ever in my part of the world...
Love your hair. Your garden.
Looking forward to hearing good news about the port.
In the meantime, enjoy the beauty.
Wow! What are those green flowers that look like little sun flowers? I must have some!
Those are lime green Echinacea, reseeded from regular old purple. They may be recessive seedlings that have plans to turn white, but I really prefer them the way they are now. I love green flowers, like Zinna 'Envy' and lime green Nicotiana, in bouquets with roses and blue salvia.
Do I recognize Black and Blue Salvia? I can only grow that as an annual. I grabbed ti when I could find at a big box store, which was three weeks before the last frost. I had it on the steps in the sun and brought it in at night. Several brittle stems were snapped by passersby, and I managed to snap the rest when I put it in the ground. I don't think it bloomed till August. Boy was I aggravated.
I'm so sorry about the delay in having your port removed. I've been reading your blog for a few months now and I knew that May 1st was your target date. I hope you don't have to wait much longer but until then, enjoy your rainbow of flowers that seem to grow more plentiful by the day. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures with all of us too. My garden lives vicariously through yours!
I am sorry about your port, you must be terribly dissappointed. I admire the way you handle it, though. And I am totally envious of your green thumb---beautiful!
OH girl, Sorry about the delay in getting the port out. Those reminders of being sick whether big or small are so painful. Trust me i get it, but I love your seeking joy in your garden. It is beautiful and watching something grow is such a joy.
Continue to be strong
And this is why we plant gardens in the first place. :)
Sorry about your port. Waiting is excruciating, and the fact that medicos -- not just in charity hospitals in Louisiana, BTW, but in posh suburban hospitals in New England where all or most of the patients are well insured, too -- routinely keep people battling potentially life threatening illnesses waiting just amps it up a whole other set of notches.
However, your salvia looks fantastic. I'll bet you can grow that cultivar as a perennial down there, too.
Hey--I'm with you on the port. Get that sucker OUT! I had one for six months while I was on Navelbine, and I hated it every minute. I'd wake up at night and feel it and freak ... I kept getting infections that required antibiotics ... hated it, hated it.
Then my doctor asked me if I'd leave it in for a year, which is kind of standard, but I said no, yank it. Ever since I've gotten all my treatment through a vein, and that's just how I like it.
Don't know if there's any way you can push your cute young surgeon to take it out sooner rather than later ...
Jeanne
Oh what a yummy garden. Thank you!
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