Picc Line... A Definite First For Me

Well I had a PICC line put in today so I don't have to give myself anymore IVs. It was an interesting procedure (my medical side always piques with new procedures I haven't seen or done). Thankfully, the staff was very cool about showing me and telling everything they were doing. I got to see what veins and arteries look like on an ultrasound and how to decipher between the two, I watched as they cleaned and cleaned and draped my arm to keep everything clean and sterile. The doctor gave me a shot of lidocaine and then made a very small incision in my biceps area were he then proceeded to feed a wire into the vein (this felt weird and a little painful in the chest), all while looking at it through X-ray to make sure placement was correct. Then he fed the catheter, which is made of silicone through the wire and then pulled the wire out... And Ta Da! All done. Then there was alot of clean up, sterile dressings, and then I got changed. But while I changed I started bleeding more than usual, so I had to go back and have a second dressing change. I will also be meeting up with my Dr tonight in Seattle where he will change my dressing again and teach me and family how to properly clean and keep the area clean and dry. Then the plan for us is to head home to Idaho, so a long road trip ahead once again... I'm resting today, my arm is sore and irritated, but I'm grateful it's not worse. I can handle sore...

(The blue smurf look is just from their cleaning prep, I haven't washed it off yet)

A little bleeding, but hopefully that will stop soon. Looking forward to not having  to give myself anymore IVs. Just hope it stays clean and free from infection or blood clots.