Perfect Timing

As many of you may know, Nancy has been on IV Therapy for the last ten (not four^†) weeks or so. She receives two liters of fluid each day via IV to combat dehydration and to get some glucose, electrolytes, and vitamins into her system. We have all the equipment to do the IV drips here at home, but she has to go into a clinic twice a week to have her shunt changed. I typically go with her, at least until the school year begins.

She usually goes in on Tuesdays and Fridays, but if she has trouble with the shunt, she'll go in and get it changed early. That was the case last Thursday. She had experienced some swelling, and the fluid wasn't flowing as it should. So we went in and she got the shunt replaced, with the next appointment set for Monday, four days thence.

We went in on Monday, and the nurse had some difficulty getting a good stick. It's hard to find a vein to use in Nancy's arms anyway; they're usually too deep to find visually, so they have to use an ultrasound to find a viable vein. Monday's experience was even more problematic. The nurse kept doing the stick, but was unable to get good blood return. (Blood return is important in this process. No blood coming out = No fluid going in.) She thought she might be running into valves, which were preventing the catheter from accessing the veins. She also said it might be stress. Nancy was already stressed at the beginning of the appointment due to a conversation with a less-than-helpful rep at her insurance company, and of course the multiple sticks only added to her stress level.

After the fourth failed stick, the nurse advised her to take some time to relax and try again later. We had tentative appointments set up for later that evening and the following (Tuesday) afternoon. We ended up going swimming Monday evening—with the shunt out, it was the first time she's been able to get in the water in ten weeks or so.

So yesterday we went back to the clinic, and two different nurses started working on Nancy. One of them brought in a CD player with some relaxing music on it. It was a collection of pieces by Handel, designed to calm and relax the listener. Just what the doctor ordered, so to speak.

Anyway, over the next hour or so, they tried three more sticks, none of which took. Nancy had done only half a liter of fluid on Monday and none yet on Tuesday, so dehydration could have been an issue. Dehydration makes it harder to get a good stick because the veins tend to flatten if your fluid levels are low. Anyway, at this point the nurses started talking about other options like getting a permanent picc line installed, or maybe even a feeding tube. Nevertheless, they decided to try one more stick, even if it only lasted a day or two until her scheduled appointment with her OB/GYN.

This time, it worked. After eight sticks over two days, they finally got a viable IV line in. And as they did, the final track on the CD started to play.

It was the Hallelujah! Chorus.

If all the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players, we couldn't have asked for a better soundtrack at that moment. We all laughed, loud and long, at the timing. Was it irony, or maybe serendipity? Or maybe both?

Whatever it was, it was the funniest thing we'd seen in a week.


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^† IV = 4 in Roman numerals. Get it?