Nurse No Show, PICC problem, broken air conditioner

[Christamae]

Well, my nurse didn't even show up! The company called her several times and she never responded and then just never showed. Soooo, now I am back to square one for looking for a nurse.

Then when Sharon was doing my dressing change on my PICC she said it looked very red and mottled and irritated and warm and puffy. It has been sensitive to movement and some flushing. One of the problems with PICCs is that it can erode the wall of the vein. The wall can get thinner and thinner until it can perforate causing massive internal bleeding. So it can be serious. Anna, the PICC nurse, placed my past PICCs. Her first day at work is Friday and that is my appointment. Friday 10:30 to replace the PICC. What really sucks is that my PICC coach, Cam, won't be available...

Then last night at like 10:00 PM our air conditioner breaks. In freakin' July. It gets to be like 106 on a regular basis. Plus I have medical equipment that heats up the house like an oxygen concentrator. And I get really sick when I get hot.

So all my hopes come crashing down and crazy complications ensue...

[rosi's mom]

So sorry everything seems to be going wrong at once. Hope you get the PICC line changed with no extra problems.

[Melissa]

I'm sorry about your nursing and PICC line troubles. I hope they both resolve for you quickly and without further incident.

As for your A/C troubles, we too had our air go out, but in early June. I went to Home Depot and purchased a portable cooler for Aly's room. It was a bit of a pain in the butt because I had to frequently add the water, but it kept her area as cool as the A/C would have. I would have purchased a room air conditioner but the reviews on them seemed bad. As if they created too much heat to be of any real assistance. Aly has a bathroom off her room directly so we just kept the cooler in the entrance and the heat was vented out through the bathroom's vent.

I hope that is an idea that may help while you wait to have the air fixed.

Hugs!

[Madeline and Molly's Mom]

What is a portable cooler? I've enver heard of that! The A/C is terrible for my girls' lungs but I thought I didn't really have an alternative. I'd love to hear more about it!