“The training was a lot to absorb because I was very afraid to mess up the procedures knowing the consequences could be high,” he says. “The scariest part was the PICC line hanging from my arm. I had a lot of anxiety taking a shower at first—it’s such a new thing. I felt vulnerable knowing that tube went straight to my heart.” Jusup says the provider was very supportive and he soon got the hang of it, set alarms on his phone, and figured out how to get comfortable. “Eventually as I got better, I could start the therapy and do other things.”

The home infusion pharmacist and ID physician consulted a lot at the beginning, he recalls. “They couldn’t get a culture to grow so they weren’t really sure how best to treat the infection,” explains Jusup. “They had to do some best guessing and watch my C reactive protein (CRP) numbers to make sure the therapy was effective.” The clinicians also made an adjustment to the infusion volume and rate. In the beginning, Jusup experienced headaches and extreme lethargy immediately after initiating drug administration, so the pharmacy added more saline to the compounded sterile preparation, increasing the infusion time.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to go to the provider every day for treatment,” adds Jusup, who lives in the mountains and was on therapy between September and November 2022. “That would have meant more than 30 minutes each way in treacherous road conditions,” he says, noting that his road is only passable with 4-wheel drive, which required him to meet the delivery driver half-way to receive his medication and supplies. “Not to mention, I was not feeling very well, and the medication made me tired. Not the best conditions for driving icy mountain roads.”