Physicians Orders
“Send for stat
Right upper extremity venous Doppler
Port-a-cath right chest
Waldenstrom's”
Swelling of the arm. Pain.”
I note the purple tinge to my palm.
Possibility of a venous thrombosis
Deep in the subclavian vein
How little I know! Such scientific ignorance!
The thermasonic gel facilitates the glide
As the tech slides the wand up close
Squeezing and releasing blood flow
Glug! Woo, Woo, Glug! Woo Woo, Glug”
The machine’s eerie speaker
Broadcasts my body’s internal flow
“That’s the juggler there, Ruth,
It looks good,” the tech watches the screen
As Color flow duplex imaging
Sparkles iridescent blues and fiery dancing oranges
To indicate volume of blood flowing through the veins
“No suspicion of large occlusive thrombus
Collateral pathways would be utilized and swollen with blood.
It’s like if Interstate #5 shuts down, then I-50 and 99 fill up
If a clot heads down the subclavian vein through the heart
To the lungs….well they’re like a coffee filter
If the clot gets in there it blocks the blood
And no oxygen comes to the lungs”
I inhale deeply and look again at my hands:
One thin and pale, the other puffy and purple
I’m hoping the interstate is clear!
But his vision is blocked and he pushes and probes around my port-a-cath
Now accessed and ready for its infusion
But stopped because of this.
“Why would they send you with an accessed port!” he exclaims in frustration
The doc’s out to lunch.
The scan indecisive.
And the infusion must be delayed
Due to a shortage of time.
Fragmented day.
Tomorrow stolen,
I’ll return to the infusion room
For four hours of chemo
But tonight
I’ll sleep.
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