in case you were curious

Here's a picture of the PICC line that Mom pulled out of her chest and arm. The angle of the shot makes the line look shorter than it is.



The part of the PICC that hangs outside of the arm is next to my thumb. That's where syringes are hooked up. The bundle of tape is what secures the line to the surface of the arm at the point where the PICC line goes through the skin. The thin, nondescript end is the part that originally sat close to Mom's heart.

The fact that Mom was able to extract this entire line without injuring herself is nothing short of astounding. Things could have been much, much worse. And now, knowing what we know about Mom's increasing tendency to fidget and fondle, it's up to us to keep extremely close watch over her.


_