Using the PICC line

When I left the hospital I went directly to my house so that I could meet the nurse that was going to teach me how to use the PICC line. I had a friend that had one in the past and while I was a little bit unsure about using the PICC myself I sort of had an idea of how it worked. I got to my house just as my antibiotic and supplies were being delivered and the nurse came shortly thereafter.

The nurse explained that I really would not have anything to worry about as far as giving myself the medication because it was all written down for me and she was going to also teach me a simple way to remember it. She told me that I would be using the 'SASH' method to push the medication into the line. Using that method, I would first flush the line with normal saline, then would administer the antibiotic, then I would need to flush the line with saline again and finally I would need to use Heperin, a blood thinner so that the line would not clot.

Once she told me about the SASH method I was more confident because it sounded relatively simple. At that point the only part of the entire situation that had me concerned was the schedule that I would need to adhere to. The hospital always seemed to tell me that it was time for my antibiotic at the strangest hours, but before I was discharged the infectious disease doctor told me that I could adjust the schedule so that I could get some sleep. The nurse and I discussed that and altered the schedule slightly so that after the first couple days I would no longer need to wake up in the middle of the night to do it.

Once she had told me how to administer the medication it was time for me to try doing it, with her watching and available if I should need any help. I was able to do it absolutely fine and with minimal questions. After the dosage was administered she had stuck around for about an hour to monitor me for signs of a reaction to the medication. I did not have a bad reaction so she left, saying she would be back the following day to change the dressing.

The next morning the visiting nurse called me to schedule her visit so that she could again, re-admit me into their service, and so she could change my Wound VAC dressing. The visit was scheduled for a few hours later so that I would have time to give myself my antibiotic and could also shower. When I was in the hospital the surgeon had told me that he had placed antibiotic seeds into the wound and that they should be left alone, but that I was allowed to shower. Well, when I got out of my shower I was disturbed to see something that I can only describe as the white candies that are ontop of Sno-Caps chocolates laying on both my shower chair and on the bottom of the tub. I knew that the nurse was going to be arriving at any moment so while I was worried about what I had seen I did not dwell on it because I was confident that my nurse would be able to handle the situation. The nurse arrived and I immediately asked her to look in my shower so she could see what had happened. It turns out that what I was seeing were the antibiotic seeds. We called the office and explained what had happened, but that the nurse still saw some left in the wound. We were told that with the other medication I was taking that while it wasn't ideal that they had fallen out it was not anything to be overly concerned with. The nurse changed the VAC dressing and we scheduled her next visit for a few days later.