Would you rather

Monday, February 19th, 2007

Status check:
8 weeks 3 days pregnant
144 lbs.

My doctor put me on home care. I’m thrilled (well, as thrilled as I can be considering the fact that I am sick, have needles sticking in my arm and have seven more months of this to look forward to). Basically, home care is a way that I can stay out of the hospital and be home to take care of my son, while still getting the care that I need. I will have daily ketone checks and dehydration checks and a nurse will visit me frequently to administer IVs and medication. Additionally, I’ll get consultations by dietitians, doctors and nurses to help me gain weight and keep it on. I’m feeling a bit teary-eyed right now because I just got the call that not only is my insurance company covering this care, but they’re covering it at 100%. I’m quite blessed.

Anyway, did you ever play the game “would you rather” when you were a kid? You know, you ask someone to choose between two equally horrible things and see what they’d rather do. Would you rather kick a puppy or drink a glass of toilet water? Would you rather eat raw cow tongue or a chicken eyeball? Would you rather listen to Barry Manilow on repeat on your IPOD for the next ten years or be stuck watching re-runs of Olsen twin movies for five years straight. You get the picture.

I was given a real-life would you rather by my home nurse this morning and I’m still going back and forth trying to decide between two equally terrible choices. I’m getting a Reglan/Zofran pump installed. That basically means that I will have a small tube running directly into a major vein that will constantly administer my needed medication into my bloodstream. The tube will run to a cell-phone sized box that I will have attached to my body at all times that will monitor my medication levels. My “would you rather” decision? I can either have the pump installed on my inner thigh or my lower abdomen. Fun choice, eh?
I’m leaning towards the thigh, but I’m having doubts. Honestly, I imagine that the giant needle will probably hurt less on my abdomen. I have a c-section scar down there and the area is still a bit numb. Still, I’m not sure that I want a tube running out of my abdomen for the next five months, especially as my belly stretches and grows. Additionally, I think it would be easier to carry a cell-phone sized pump around while strapped to my leg instead of my already ballooning abdomen. Still, I’m already cringing at the thought of a needle going into my inner thigh. A real-life “would you rather” that I really don’t want to answer.

What would you choose?