Photo: 9/6/2026 - Karen with broken Hickman line having a blood transfusion

Hello Everyone

Karen has now been in Conquest hospital in East Sussex for 2 years and 5 months.

Early afternoon on Monday the 8th when a nursing sister was giving Karen an IV flush - an injection of saline - down her Hickman line before giving medication the saline sprayed out over Karen instead of going down the line. One of the two lines on Karen’s Hickman line had suddenly started leaking. Only minutes earlier the line had been used by the sister and had seemed fine. The broken line is a disaster for Karen. It means that the broken line can no longer be used and the whole Hickman line will need changing as an emergency under GA in Interventional Radiology (IR) as soon as possible. In the meantime, as there is only one working line, Karen’s IV medication & IV fluid will have to be given through the line that is normally used for TPN only, so she cannot have TPN until the Hickman line is replaced.

The line being broken was a shock as it had only been put in on the 16th of February so has only been in for less than 4 months when a Hickman line is normally expected to last for years.

We have been told that the IR lists are on Monday, Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon. It will be on the emergency anaesthetists’ list. 

Karen’s chronic anaemia has continued to get worse recently. The anaemia means that Karen is even more exhausted than usual. Late afternoon on Monday a doctor came to visit Karen to say that her haemoglobin (Hb) level was only 69 - and that she needed a blood transfusion soon. The normal range is 125 -165. We have been told previously that if someone’s Hb drops below 70 they should be given a blood transfusion. On Tuesday afternoon Karen was given the blood transfusion. It was the 3rd time that Karen has had a blood transfusion. The previous one was only less than 4 months ago, in February.

Thank you so much to everyone who has signed and shared the petition. Also, thank you very much to everyone who has chipped in to promote the petition. It is very generous of you and it makes a big difference. Thank you for your supportive comments. It is all much appreciated by us.

Please keep sharing this petition and telling people about Karen’s situation. 

Thank you to everyone for your support.

Best wishes to you all.
Heather, Michael & Karen