How to Grow (and Raise) an Alien...or Two

Barfing up my lunch was just the beginning. After hurling for most of Thursday, I called my dad and requested a ride to the hospital. When I got there, I was told that they were going to give me an IV. I refused it and insisted on speaking with a doctor. Why would I be happy with an IV? Sure, give me fluids now, send me home and I'll be back tomorrow because my vein will collapse yet again. I explained to them that I didn't want a band-aid for this problem...I needed something that would work on a more long term basis. At this point, I got to talk to a resident and then the attending. This got me an overnight stay at L'Hotel Magee. They agreed with me and gave me a picc line. This is a more advanced version of an IV. Instead of the tube on the IV being a couple inches long, it's 12 - 14 inches long. It goes in my upper arm, through my shoulder and down toward my heart. So far so good. I'm just a bit nauseated and really tired, but the vomitting has ceased. They said that the picc line can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months. I hope I'm closer to the 2 week end because it really grosses me out when I think about it.