The Final Surgery

The medication port came out today.  The removal was pretty straight forward.  J went in with confidence.  He is used to the PACU.  He knows what to expect.  He has learned (and doctors are learning as well) that a bit of distraction helps pass the time and ease anxieties.  We had placed the EMLA cream over the top of his port, just in case they would choose to access it, to begin giving him anesthesia to put him to sleep.  He preferred that plan over the idea of getting a peripheral IV.  However, the anesthesiologist suggested using gas at first and then placing their IV.  J can be pretty confident when he knows the rules of the game, but when you change how things are done, he gets a little anxious.  His cure for anxiety, his Kindle.  A few games.  A good book.  Oh, and Studio C on Mom's phone.  These are adequate distractions that helped him get through the pre-surgery waiting.


He woke up a very short time later, confused as to whether they had put him to sleep for surgery yet.   His recovery was pretty simple, except when it came time for him to get his IV pulled.  He strongly dislikes tape, and I set him to task of removing the tape holding his IV line in place.  I think he set a record with 20 minutes to remove the tape.

He gained a souvenir.

This is the reservoir from his medication port.  The catheter was not given to J.  All of this hides underneath the skin.  They poke through the skin with the needle into the center portion of the port.  So nice that someone came up with the port, but so nice that we are finished with it.