getting a Hickman's: deep breath

Nothing like short notice. I get a call today that my outpatient surgery is scheduled for this Friday. They are going to try and drain this ovarian mass (the thinking being it's not cancer but fluid build-up from last year's traumatic surgery. I just hope to god my GYN oncologist is right). The GYN oncologist looked at the CD images of my MRA and CT scans along with my surgeon from last year and my GI doc and she said the mass looks even more "fluid-filled" than she originally thought, "solid elements aside." Granted, there could be cancer but she's not leaning that way. And I guess it doesn't matter at this point. It's either cancer or it's not. I'm just praying when they go to drain it that it doesn't burst since that would mean open surgery which for me is the worst-case scenario. They are also going to replace my PICC line with the Hickman's and put in a new J tube. Blissfully, they are doing this while I am fully UNconscious. Not in twilight sleep, but fully sedated. It's being done in interventional radiology, I guess in case I suddenly spring a blood clot. It's a change from what I was told last week. Supposedly the plan was my GYN oncologist would drain the mass, my surgeon from last year would replace the J tube, and the interventional radiology team who put in my PICC line last year would put in the Hickman this time. Now it's all being done by this one surgeon, whom I've never even heard of until today. However, they forgot about the 5 days of going on Lovenox and since today is already Monday, it might now be pushed back from this Friday until the following Monday. Grrrg! I just want it over with. And yeah, I'm frightened to death I'm not going to wake up, but I guess if that's to be my fate, at least I'll be sedated and not 'know' beforehand that I'm dying, know what I mean?

So for those of you who have gone from PICC lines to Hickmans, how difficult an adjustment was it? Do you prefer the Hickmans? My cousin (the nurse) keeps swearing I'll prefer the Hickman's because it will give me my right arm back (where the PICC line is).

I also still don't know what this new J tube is/looks like. I'm praying it won't be the same ridiculous, strange set-up I have now with this rigid tube that arcs up and then down. And since for some reason I suddenly developed really thick granulation tissue out of the blue over the weekend (that the triamcinolone ointment isn't helping for some reason), I'm wondering if while they are at it/have me sedated, they can just cut off the granulation tissue. Can they do that? Cut off the tissue? (Though again, with my blood thinner issue, I don't know if that's even an option.)

Anyway....