Installation: PICC Line

April 28, 2023, Day 8, evening, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Boca Raton, Florida

This afternoon, I had a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line installed in my left arm. It runs from a port in my left forearm 49cm (19 19/64 inches) through my veins and ends near my heart.

I have been receiving around-the-clock intravenous antibiotics for a cellulitis infection in my right ankle due to a lingering diabetic ulcer (wound), along with tendonitis (tendon inflammation). I have now been switched from two antibiotics to one antibiotic. I also receive somewhat strong oral pain medications.

A couple of days ago, a radioactive body scan determined that I have avascular necrosis (death of bone tissue due to a lack of blood supply) in a bone or bones in my right ankle due to one or two recent falls. The scan also discovered inflammation in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen. (Last year, I was diagnosed with gall stones, but this seems unrelated.)

There was mention of my appendix.

A recent MRI found that I have hairline fractures in both my tipia and fibula bones in my right ankle.

Even though there aren't any definitive signs of osteomyelitis (bone infection), my podiatrist still wants me to start a six-week-long regimen of daily intravenous antibiotics, hence my PICC line. He has mentioned concern about one of the toes of my right foot.

I will be administering the intravenous antibiotics every day by myself at home, with a nurse checking on me once per week.

I have been hospitalized many times during recent years with cellulitis infections within both of my legs, separately, due to lingering diabetic ulcers in both of my feet. I have done the six-week-long program several times by myself at home and also outpatient. When I did this regimen in early 2021, both of my kidneys stopped functioning. I required six weeks of dialysis (four straight hours, seven days per week) before my kidneys regained functionality.

I have had four surgeries on my left foot: one to remove a decayed bone due to osteomyelitis from a lingering diabetic ulcer; two to remove a toe joint and bone fragments due to osteomyelitis; and one to remove a benign tumor that was growing within a diabetic ulcer.