Big Challenges Big Rewards

Janet went in for her paracentisis on Thursday. Janet hates the procedure which involves a shot of local anesthetic to her abdomen followed by insertion of a needle to remove excess fluid. Typically between 1.8 and 2.4 litres of fluid is removed. The physician uses an ultrasound machine to ensure most if not all fluid is removed. Janet then spends an hour or so in the medical day unit while her blood pressure is monitored and if all is well she is released. She is currently on a three week schedule with this procedure performed every three weeks.

As Janet has become weaker paracentisis has become more a big deal because it requires two trips to the hospital, one for blood tests and one for the actual procedure. Janet has to get dressed and get to the car, sit in the car for at least a half an hour drive and then get out and get to the lab or medical imaging department to have the procedure performed. Its a lot for a person in a weakened state.

On the plus side the procedure does make her feel much more comfortable by reducing the fluid pressure on her stomach Reducing this pressure also significantly increases the odds that any food she eats will be retained by her system.

Janet learned after the second time she had paracentisis that the best way to get through it was to take an Antivan which is a muscle relaxant.

Todays game plan went roughly like this. Janet up and showered and ready to go by 10:00 am (I had to help her get ready). We put Janet in the wheelchair to get to the car and I drove Janet to the hospital where Karen Corcoran was waiting with another wheelchair, borrowed from the hospital. Janet transferred to Karen who wheeled her to the medical imaging department for the procedure and stayed with her until the Medical Day Care Unit released her. Karen then drove Janet back home where I met her with a wheelchair. Its a bit of a hassle but the rewards are as follows:

• 3 litres of fluid removed (a record for Janet)
• Janet feels much more comfortable now and likely will for at least a week, perhaps more
• Janet ate and retained half a turkey sandwhich, a can of Sprite, 3/4 of a Boost drink and a small bowl of Chilli. Its been weeks since Janet was able to retain this much food and calories in a single day. This really helps to put some strength back in her. She actually spent an hour this evening downstairs watching TV and her brother in law John N. commented that she looked much more alert than she has in quite a while. The calories provide immediate benefit.
• As Janet is more comfortable she will likely sleep better and this will contribute to her overall well being.

Paracentisis is definitely in keeping with our objective of making Janet more comfortable and treating her immediate symptons. These days its a big challenge for her, but it does have big rewards at the end of the process. We think its worth it.