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I had an appointment today with a surgeon who says he can remove Carver's Hickman Line and replace it with a port at the same time. This makes me less scared about having a surgery again. Carver will have a wire threaded through the existing Hickman line. Then, the Hickman line will be removed and the vein will be held open by the wire. The catheter attached to the port will slide over the wire. In this way, there should be less bleeding because the surgeon will not have to cut open another vein. He will probably cut and sew a spot in his skin where the port sits. Since the port is just under the skin it is less of an infection risk than the Hickman line with an open cite. I feel better knowing that this surgery should be less invasive than the one before...we're using the same incision and vein that goes to his heart. Also, the port stick will hurt less even though it is still a stick. We can use numbing cream like we do for Granton. And, our appointments should run more smoothly with less stress on Carver or me with the quick access. Plus, ultimately, the quick access provides a safety net if Carver gets sick and has to go to the ER. And, the surgeon will consider Carver's clotting factors before surgery. And, we can take it out as soon as we don't need it anymore. Not long-term. I think that's all.

The surgery to remove Hickman Line, Replace with Port, and Circumcision will be on Monday all while Carver is under anesthesia. We are probably going home sometime next week!

Jenni