Right now, the visiting nurse is in my kitchen jerry rigging a new bag to hang on the IV pole.

When she came in, I gaver her the bag of Gamma and when she tried to connect everything, she said 'UH OH, IT'S LEAKING". And she has never had this happen before. I gave her some strong tape, she tried taping and sealing it but when she turned it over, it leaked again.

So she went out to her car, got a bag of Saline Solution. She is standing over my kitchen sink draining the saline bag, then she will infuse the bag with the Gamma from the leaky bag and HOPEFULLY, ALAN CAN GET HIS 9th infusion. He had 5 in the hospital, two at home last month, and today is the second of two days. So it's his 9th infusion.

They are laughing in the kitchen. I gave her a clean bowl for any excess and she is moving the solution from the original bag of Gamma into the (now empty) bag of saline solution.

Let's hope this works.

oh my!!!!

Melody

IVIG needs to be mixed and poured into bags under completely sanitary conditions - was it the bag of IIVG that was leaking and shes putting into another bag????????? Dont want to alarm - but the last thing you want is any risk of contaminiation!

sterility is compromised!

The infusion supplier should replace it. How did it start to leak? Around the tubing, what?

I agree with kmeb....do not use!

HAVE THE NURSE CALL THE PHARMACY NOW!
Do not pass go - just do it!
YOU DIAL SAY IT"S AN EMERGENCY AND MUST SPEAK TO A PHARMACIST!
It's obvious the nurse really doesn't know the protocol. The pharmacist WILL!
We all know you need ALAN, and thus we need you!
Please don't delay? PLEASE! - j

Melody:

Please let us all know how this emergency turned out. I am sure we all are alarmed about the infusion not being sterile. Worry, worry. Biting nails.

Shirley H.

Okay, everybody calm down. Alan has about another hour to go in the infusion.

This nurse was marvelous. And she was sanitary in every single step she took.
She took a bag of saline out of her car (it was sterile). She then used all new sterile tubing.

She took out a brand new sterile (big) hypodermic thing).

She emptied out the saline bag and she took the gamma out of the leaky thing and she put all the solution into the (now empty) Saline Bag.

So in essence, she transferred from one sterile environment to another.

The funny thing was when we tried the tape (the leak was on the bottom of the bag (as it hangs from IV Pole), and when the leak wouldn't stop, she immediately turned it upside down so it stopped leaking (we didn't want to lose any of the Gamma).

So I said "why not use my glue gun and seal the leak and then we use the tape). She laughed and said "No, don't worry, while this has never happened before, I have a bag of Saline in my car, I'll just empty it and transfer the Gamm into it." And that's exactly what she did.

Then she cleaned up my kitchen counter and you would never know there were bags hanging from the cabinet and dripping into the sink.

So what happened afterward????

I fed her Teriyaki Chicken, my patatas, some brocolli and my muffins.

She was in heaven. She's inside right now talking with Alan. They are having a ball.

So this CRISIS turned out not to be a crisis.

Take care and thanks to all of you for being so nice.

Melody