freckles, spots...

During the chemotherapy your skin will be really sensitive, so you should use sun screen to prevent spots from appear.
Other melanine spots will appear but hopefully they will be gone once your treatment is over. ;)

Keep you hydrated

Even though you are not hungry you should really try to drink. I know it is really hard when your stomach is so closed it doesn´t even want water. But being hydrated is important, so try drinking sip by sip.

Pain and side effects

Since October I have had pains for one thing or the other, tiredness, dizziness or other annoying side effects.
I had to get used to get up and feeling bad every day, this was the new normality for now. And I needed to deal with it.

SUCK IT UP AND DEAL WITH IT ANA!!!


That meant not complaing when something hurted and try to live with it. :) And still be happy or at least try.

Hospital and home

The doctors told me my defences are two week to have a normal life. And that I should avoid having contact with people which means I need to stay home until my defences are up again.
I have been home since November I miss having a normal life, simple things like going to a coffee shop, do the shopping, cinema, doing sport.... I can´t because of my PICC.

new fashion

With my PICC I can´t use my jumpers or long sleeve shirts, shirts... I had to change my manner of dressing. Now I have to use men hoodies/ jumpers because mine will not fit with my big arm. I thought about buying bigger jumpers and hoodies for me but, what is the point if it is only for this year. I just bought one hoodie and two jumpers the rest of the time I use borrowed clothes :).

hospitalized part 1

When I went to the emergency room they inserted me an IV. And after a lot of waiting, a sonography and that several doctors checked on me they decided I had to spend the night in the hospital.
I was really scared because I thought I was going home that day and even more frightened as doctors didn´t know the reason why I had that bump.
I remember I was in the temporary bed with my dad and another doctor came and told me they were going to send me to the second floor. They made me take off my clothes and get dressed with the hospital robe.
When I arrived I discovered my roomate was a really old lady. Unfortunately she shouted at night and she wouldn´t let me sleep. I remember sometimes she asked me to help her to wake up at which I always responded that I couldn´t.
The first morning, the team of doctors came to see me. They told me they did not know why I had that bump and that they would make me some tests to find it out. They told me the would do several tests on me:
-a biopsy of the bump to study it.
-several blood tests
-a scanner of my body in the hospital.
-punching my bump to analyse it
-a sonography
-mantra 
Afterwards I was really scared because I knew the biopsy will involve an operation. And I had never had an operation before. I was also supposing that some of the tests would hurt. I remember I cried a lot. I did not want to be that sick... I thought I would go home soon.

my first IV

PICC

In another section I introduced you what is a PICC, basically is an internal via that arrives until your heart and it is used for chemotherapy. A PICC should last a year or a year and a half.

Step 1 When they introduce you the PICC

They insert it to you while you are awake so you must be really brave. ;). First of all while you are lying in a hospital bed they use an ultrasound scanner to look at the veins and arteries in your arm. Under normal circumstances they put it in you right arm. While they are scanning your arm, collarbone and heart they paint you with permanent marker to guide the way.
Later, they train you to do two movements one to be completely straing in the bed facing up with your future PICC arm facing the our of the bed the other on the bed head and neck completely straight. Then when the nurse gives you a signal you need to bend your neck and head in the position the nurse tells you. The nurse also measures your arm to check which type of PICC is needed for your body.
Before starting the process, they desinfect the room put you a hat and a mask. The nurse is wearing a hat and a mask too. He cleans the area where he is inserting the PICC this will be named the inserting point. He prepares the needles and injects a little of  anaesthetic, is important not to be shy here if you still feel a lot your arm ask for more anaesthetic.
He starts introducing the PICC and you shall freeze body until the nurse tells you to do the movement you have being training before. At last the nurse cleans the inserting point puts tapes on the PICC to hold it on your skin and puts some disinfectant, bandages and tapes it.


Step 2. Taking care of your PICC

Wearing a PICC will change your life. I love it because it allows me to receive my chemotherapies and other treatments through there. I can also take out blood from it. It is grand!
But say goodbye to your clothes, with your PICC and bandages your arm is just too big. For this time I am borrowing my brother´s and boyfriend´s jumpers and hoodies. Lucky me they have good taste in clothing. No one told me this but the first week after the PICC your arm will hurt a lot because your vein is complaining. You won´t be able to do anything with that arm for a week.

-You need to go to cure your PICC once a week at the hospital.
-You can´t scratch or squeeze your bandage.
-You shouldn´t use that arm to much, specially lifting things or doing sports.
-If you feel pain after the first week you should go to the hospital PICCs are painless unless is there any problem.

Step 3. What how your nurse cures your PICC really carefully 

I am wearing currently my second PICC, my first one moved because a nurse don´t cure it properly. This person hold my PICC on the bandage instedad of on the skin. Oh well...is water under the bridge now.

I am not a nurse but a this point I know perfectly how to cure PICCs. First you remove the bandage really carefully so you don´t cat the cable as an accident. Then you inject heparin or other substances so it doesn´t block they inject sodium chloride too. The nurse cures the insertion point with desinfectant or if it really bad puts some antibiotic cream. If the skin is really dry she moisturizes it too. When it dries the changes the tapes of the PICC for clean ones. Then she bandages everything again. First the light of the PICC, once the light is well wrapped she bandages the arm and she puts the light inside the arm bandage tapes everything and puts a net over it.