Blood return from port slow for 2 weeks, but better yesterday

I had various complications yesterday having to do with income tax preparations and a recalcitrant computer, which had to be worked on for several hours and which I haven't been able to use until this evening, and which accounts for posting this evening after we returned from dinner that Nancy and Laura took us out to celebrate Emma's birthday again.  Today is her actual birthday, but we had an early dinner in celebration of it at Nancy's home Sunday evening where I supplied and grilled the meat and Nancy's daughter and daughter-in-law helped her prepare the rest of it.  A good time was had by all.  Today the telephone hardly cooled with all the birthday wishes from friends and family, while I waited impatiently for a phone call from the computer technician.

The blood return yesterday from a line in my port was almost back to normal compared to what it had been like the 2 previous weeks. Camille, my nurse for the day, consulted the computer records to learn which side of the port she should use because I had become confused by the previous efforts and wasn't sure what should be used.  It still took several injections of saline to get a return before drawing two vials of blood and later, when it was time to give me the Velcade infusion she had another nurse, Noelle, help by hanging a bag of saline to drip in my port and the Velcade was infused while the saline drip was flowing.  I believe this was done to assure that the port was well flushed and ready for future use.  Next week they won't draw blood if they follow past practices and the port will only be used for the Velcade infusion and I won't have to wait on a report from the lab on blood work before the infusion.  The 3 clinic visits thus far this cycle have all taken longer than I expected them to take, but maybe we will be back on a regular schedule next Monday just in time for another 2-week "holiday."