People often ask me what is TPN and how is it given to Luke so I thought I would try and explain a little. TPN stands for Total Parental Nutrition and is basically a bag full of all the essential nutrients and vitamins needed to live. It also contains something called Lipids which are the fats and calories we need to survive and gain weight. It is given Intravenously and it is possible to live on TPN alone for a very long peroid of time but it is not without its complications and strains on life.
The first picture shows the site where Luke's Broviac line is inserted which is in a main artery very close to his heart. This is why it is serious when the line becomes infected as the infection gets into the blood stream very, very fast and is pumped all around the body. It is also important that the line is kept safe so that it is not pulled out.
Luke spends 15 hours each night hooked up to his TPN and I have had to have Intravenous training in order to be able to administer it to him as it has to be put on and taken off in a sterile field to limit infection risk. Once it is up it is placed into a machine as in the second picture. This ensures that the correct dose is administered each hour and also has safety features on it as no air must get into the veins. Again, I have had to have training for this. Noone knows how long Luke will need his TPN for but hopefully this helps you to understand what it is.
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