So we get there on the evening of Monday , June the 2nd , and I immediately get admitted to the leukemia ward . A nurse comes in , asks me a few questions , then asks , " Do you know what's going to be happening up here ?" , and I said , " Yeah , people are going to come in here taking turns beating the shit outta me " , and she said , " Yeah , basically " . They took me downstairs where they inserted a Hickman Line and there it was to remain for 7 months. I felt like a fucking cyborg.
A Hickman line is a type of soft, flexible, tunneled central venous catheter inserted into a large vein in the chest (subclavian or internal jugular) to provide long-term access for chemotherapy, medication, nutrition (TPN), or blood sampling. It remains in place for extended periods, typically featuring 1-3 external lumens for simultaneous treatments.
They didn't start on the chemo right away , but did so after a few days . I made the mistake of walking barefoot ( within my room ) , from the bed to the bathroom , and managed to get a foot infection which entered through a wound from a corn that I had removed earlier in May . That managed to screw things up for an extra month .
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