My PICC line

So, this is my travelling companion for the next six months or so...

 It's a PICC line, which stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter.  It's basically a tube that goes into my arm, through a big ol' vein, and hovers somewhere just above my heart. It's how the chemotherapy is delivered into my body and it's also how all my blood can be drawn from here on.

Very handy.

Except when it's not.  Like when I want to shower and wash my hair but I'm not allowed to get it wet due to the risk of introducing infectious bacteria into my body.  Or when I might accidentally snag it on my clothing and yank it out (I'm not actually sure that would happen, but you never know).

I've had four showers since it was inserted and each one came with it's own challenges.  But we've figured out that if I use approximately half a roll of cling wrap (the pricey Press and Seal apparently works the best) wrapped around my arm and then taped along the seams, I can shower fairly easy whilst keeping it dry.

Of course, my mobility with half a roll of saran wrap around my arm is much more limited.

So I went online and googled "Waterproof PICC line covers" and now I am eagerly awaiting my new shower accessory that scored 4.5 stars on Amazon.

In the meantime, noting that the mesh "sleeves" that the hospital gives me to cover the PICC to avoid potential snags, get really grungy, really fast and do not hold up to the washing machine, I decided to try my hand at creating a reusable, washable sleeve. 

What do you think?   I'm not sure how long this one will maintain it's shape before it rolls down all stretched out and useless, but for now, it's fitting over my arm quite nicely and the itchiness that the mesh ones gave me seems to have vanished. I'm going to wear it to bed and see how it holds up.  Tomorrow I'm going to try making one with a stretchier, softer, wool to see if I can't tighten it up.

Who knew... cancer has provided me with another hobby!