Discharged

A resident came around 1pm to take out my catheter. Peeling off the tape was the worse part, which isn't bad at all. There were little pulls and tugs when she snipped and removed the stitches. After that, she just pulled the line out... No pain, just a little weird. Taking it out didn't take more than 10 minutes. The resident that put it in said she placed it where my old scars were, so that I won't get new ones. I don't mind the scars though. They remind me of my history and that I overcame a lot of obstacles. While the resident was taking the line out, the nurse took out my IV too. The nurse then placed pressure on my neck for about five minutes to minimize stop the bleeding and minimize the bruising. She told me that I had to stay in the hospital for at least an hour, so that they could check that the opening had clotted properly. I have to change the gauze daily for at least the first week. Then, I can just use regular bandages after that. I realize that my neck and back ache because I haven't been able to move my neck properly for the past week. Now I can't move it because the bandaging. They finally gave me my discharged papers at 3pm. To my surprise, my favorite PCA walked me down and out of the hospital after that.

The first thing I did when I got home was unpack and took a shower.

Here are a couple of pictures. I was bored when waiting for a resident to come to take out the line.

The view from my room. I never knew what this was until one of the respiratory therapists told me it's where they make all the oxygen and gases. I still see it as pollution.








IV. One line was for Rituximab the other for maintenance (normal saline).











My Trans-pal. The nurse I had on Monday called it Bob. Bob wasn't the best. He constantly made clicking sounds. He didn't beep as much as the others though.

Catheter

Going to go back to the hospital for my second dose of Rituximab as an outpatient in about 2 weeks.