Ewww...that's so gross...

Monday, December 15th was a big day! So busy. So many appointments. So many people poking me and prodding me and the same questions over and over. Urg!!! This was the day I was to get my PICC line. For those of you not in the know (I didn't know until five days ago) a PICC line is a small tube and wire inserted into one of your larger veins. The tube extends to the outside of your skin making it easy for blood work and chemo treatments. YUCK!!! I hate needles! I realize that I won't continuously have needles poked into me now and my veins won't collapse from being over used but the tube that came out of my arm really freaked me out. They bring you into an X-ray/ultrasound room. The nurse froze my arm and then inserted the tube. She used the ultrasound machine and X-ray type pictures to guide the wire into place, very close to my heart. The thought of all of this going into me and being moved around in me made me squeamish. Once done, I found it bulky and painful. How was I going to last the next sixteen plus weeks? After the PICC line was inserted, I went for blood work (I've learned I have to do this the day before any chemo treatment so they can check my blood cell count), and then to a follow-up appointment with the medical oncologist (chemo doctor). No big surprises there! Yay! After the meeting with the oncologist, we went for something called a MUGA scan. This is a test where they again inject me with dyes and I have to wait for it to flow through my body.  The test is about half an hour in length and tests your heart. They need to make sure that it is pumping blood properly so that the chemo will pump through you body properly and so that your heart can withstand the chemo treatment. The test was completed and it was finally time to go home...