Oh my god Ketel, you made the right decision...trust me.
first off, PICC lines are a pain in the ass, you can't keep em for as long as a port, and they get infected alot easier.
now, thats not to say i love my port. i hate it. i'm really thin (REALLY thin) and it's right above my right breast, so that kinda pushes it out more, but it really protudes. alot. you can clearly see it through every shirt i wear.
AND the incision did not close up for three months. i kept having to go in and get stitches taken out, then restitched, at one point it was left open, a whole about the size of a dime...i could literally SEE the white plastic of the port through the hole.
and i had to pack it twice a day with silver nitrate for awhile to try and get the skin to approximate.
i had to keep it covered that whole time (and showering was a bitch. i literally took baths for a long long time)
BUUUUUTT all that said and done, it's much better than the PICC. Right now, i'm getting my use out of it, and trust me, with your infusions, you'd much rather have your hands and arms free. it's alot easier to not think about the needle in your chest (trust me)
when i first came out from having the port put in (i was awake but heavily drugged, and i had a local) i kept talking to the guy doing it...he told me his name was Bill just before they gave me the drugs so the whole time i kept going "Bill? Bill is that you? thats a bit of pressure there Bill...a little pressure...careful there" (i could't see him cuz of that blue cloth they put up.
anywho, when i got back to my hospital room i was SUPER paranoid that they had stuck a metal rod up my neck or something. i could barely turn my head. every nurse that came in for the remainder of that day i'd say "um, is there something in my neck running up to my jaw? are you sure they didn't put something there too?" (my mom got really tired of my asking every nurse. she was testy b/c she thought i didn't believe her)
i also had the 'lurch' thing going on. i couldn't look up, and couldn't put my chin to my chest. had to turn my whole torso just to look to the side.
but trust me....TRUST me, it goes away.
i'll leave you with this (i always like to use pictures to illustrate my point....)
if you go here:
http://www.cancer-sucks.com/gallery/media.php that little vid. clip of me playing the conga drums i have my port (you can almost see the white of the bandage from the neckline on my shirt)
and these pics:
http://www.cancer-sucks.com/gallery/pic ... -2-015.jpg (er, copy and paste that link b/c i can't get it to work with the apostrophe in the link)
http://www.cancer-sucks.com/gallery/pic ... -ginga.jpg
http://www.cancer-sucks.com/gallery/pic ... eneira.jpg
http://www.cancer-sucks.com/gallery/pic ... dstand.jpg
were ALL taken after my port was put in. so really....it'll get better.
i promise
(though i can't WAIT til this thing gets taken out!)