Colorful Bandages

Have you ever had a PICC line and the hospital gave you a super cool self-adherent colored bandage?? These bandages are sometimes referred to as "coban" or "vetrap".  You can purchase a roll at your local Tractor Supply.  YEP! You heard me!  We picked up a roll tonight for $2.29 at our local Tractor Supply.  You can view their website here. I've also read that you can buy it from your local vet. Another option is to call your local medical supply companies to see if they sell it.

Tomorrow we travel back to Chapel Hill to have Ty's PICC line pulled. The mucus in his chest is finally breaking up. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see so much mucus in his "spit cup". A "spit cup" sounds gross doesn't it... almost like he's dipping snuff!  Ewww. LOL I usually give Ty a cup to spit his mucus in while he's doing his treatments. Not only is it convenient, but it also gives me a chance to monitor how much is being coughed up and what color it is. 

Ty continues to drag his feet on his treatments. This morning it took him almost 3 hours to get everything done and tonight it took him nearly an hour to get started. We're having to remove all distractions (TV, computer, game) during his treatments because he can't seem to stay focused and get them all done in a timely manner. 

Last night the mucus was pretty thick and loose in his chest and it became hard for him to breathe. He panicked and came running in my room, breathing loud and heavy. I could hear him wheezing and his pulse rate shot up. I calmed him down, had him do a breathing treatment and I did chest PT on him. It cleared up and he was fine. I hope this served as a wake-up call for him.

We've got our fingers crossed for tomorrow! Our last FEV was 84%. We're shooting for 90% this go 'round!