Did I mention before that I hate this fistula? I know everyone dislikes the chest catheter for being an infection risk but for the patient, it’s much easier. There are no needles to stick in you and zero pain.
The fistula started leaking as soon as it was connected. The tech did miss on the first try for the arterial needle but the venous connection started leaking. I could see a bubble of blood grow under the medical tape. It was slowing expanding and was going to leak blood all over unless the tech changed the tape. Next, the arterial needle started leaking but slowly so we left it until the end. When the tech finally pulled the tape off, there were large chunks of coagulated blood stuck to the needle site. Also, the arterial needle site was hurting the entire session. I tried to sleep but was worried about leaking blood everywhere.
It was a long four hours. At least my cardiologist’s office called me to okay the tooth extraction so the fun is not over yet for today.
Life with chronic diseases 