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As a CF patient, Henrik tends to have recurring bad infections in his lungs and sinuses. Four times in 2006 he spent ten days in the hospital receiving IV antibiotics three times a day for some nasty bug, which always felt like a big waste of time on his part and a waste of resources on the hospital’s part. The rest of the day, when he wasn’t receiving the drip, he was bored out of his mind.
In April 2007, it was time again; a doctor called to confirm that he had some rare bacterium in his lungs that would require IV antibiotics. Then she said, “Can you bring your wife in so we can teach her how to give the IV?” We were flabbergasted.
Sure enough, the hospital fitted us out with a set of little IV pods for us to take home. All they had to do was insert the needle in his arm, which he has to go around with for the ten days. It also has to be replaced every three days to prevent risk of infection, but the local clinic can do that.
The needle
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The hospital’s pharmacy fills these
little pods (they call them “bubbles” in Swedish)
with just the right dosage of antibiotic in saline.
The IV pods are pressurized, so you don’t actually have to put them up high— but we figured it doesn’t hurt. We had one that flowed really slowly, so now we always place them a little higher than his arm.
Here’s what it looks like when it’s done (takes a half hour).
Neat, huh? I've never heard of anything like it.
It’s so much smarter than having him take up a bed in a ward for ten days!