I have now been trained how to administer the infusion treatment by myself and while I have been doing it for the past week with a nurse present, today I soloed! Here is probably more than you want to know about it in pictures and descriptions.
Step One. Release the IV line that has been taped to my body.
Step two, glove up for sterile procedure.
Step three get the (2) Radicava bags , (2) Saline solution, (1)Heparin (anti-clotting drug), wipe ready go. Note, remember to take everything out of the plastic before you put the gloves on.
Step four Take the Radicava and prep to be speared.
Step five Hang the Radicava on the IV Stand.
Step six Sterilize the port you are going to drip the Radicava through to your body.
Step Seven Push 5cc's of Saline solution through the feed, than pause, and pull back until you get blood to make sure the connection is still valid. (Look at the tube at the bottom of the picture)
Step eight Connect to the Radicava bags handing on the stand, sit down and let it flow for sixty minutes (Change from bag one to bag two halfway through)
View of stands with drip attached.
So, after the last bag is emptied, you turn off the flow, disconnect that IV, (with gloves on), flush the Radicava in the line with 10 cc's of saline into my body, then follow that up with 5 cc's of Heparin to prevent clotting.
This is what freedom looks like for me. I will be on this treatment for the rest of my life so that means 14 days receiving this infusion with ten days off, then repeat. Over and over again. If I had to have a nurse present, that would really cramp my last days. I want to travel and see the world which would have been much harder if I had to have a nurse. But the nurse's that are treating me were happy to train me. So know, I have freedom. I mean I will have to take an hour out of every day to do this, but if I can do this on my own, much more plausible to travel Just take the stuff with me and do it myself. I couldn't be happier right now!
Russ
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