Tuesday started out well. I went to the Forum office to take my two hour computer training for assigning jobs, notifying registrations and applying hours. I thought I had slept funny and asked Ted to put some Flexall on my shoulder blade and thought nothing more of it.
When I returned at noon, Ted and Terry were sitting out on the deck cleaning guns. I fixed a sandwich, ate and headed back out to run some errands. My first stop was a quick in and out but I was short of breath. I sat in the AC for several minutes before heading to the next place. Another quick in and out but I had to go back to the car to sit before going next door. After that quick in and out I decided to go home. Something was wrong.
I told Ted I just couldn't catch my breath. My toes, feet and lower legs started cramping terribly. It hurt like crazy. I tried several things to no avail so I lumbered in to our bedroom to change into PJs with plans to lay down to see if I would feel better. But I couldn't get undressed so stumbled into the hall and told Ted to call 911, I couldn't breathe. He helped me dress into loose clothing and I laid on the couch waiting for the ambulance. We live just 2.5 miles from the hospital so we were there in no time. I was whisked into triage and within 6 hours had several test results indicating a pulmonary embolism in my left lung and a Deep Vein Thrombosis in my left leg.
So that's where I have been. I was on Heparin immediately and when my numbers hit the right one, I started on Eliquis. There seems to be no obvious reason for me having a DVT and clots so the detective work continues.
Kara arrived and when she wasn't liking their answers, demanded a vascular specialist be called in. He checked out my DVT and said we needed an interventionist cardiologist. The next guy looked at my file, sent his NP to talk to us and had me in the cath lab at 3:00 to place a filter in my artery to catch any clot that might break away from the DVT.
It took until Saturday to spring me from "the joint." I may have a procedure to get rid of the DVT. It is too big to ever think a blood thinner will get rid of it. The cardiologist wants to check my heart because my enzymes went up indicating a possible mild heart attack or trauma from the clot passing through the heart, the hematologist wants to help discover the WHY of the clot, they want me to see my GYN because of a thickened uterine lining not seen in "older" women. Looking "under the hood" is not good for old folks. They always find more than you came for. It was late afternoon on Saturday when we got home. Kara got me settled in and sorted my medicine out.
Sunday was a little busy. Ted went to church at 11:00 while Kara stayed with me. Irene and John stopped by after church and brought me a pot of daisies. They visited for a few hours. Then Terry, Carol, Sharon and Don brought dinner over. As they were leaving Mike and Judy came with begonias and a quiche. They visited for awhile and when they left we ate our dinner. It was delicious and had remained at a perfect temperature.
I am not doing much beyond walking to the bathroom and back to the couch. The left leg is painful with the DVT and my stamina is still low. Tuesday morning, in addition to the doctor appointments, we will be very busy cancelling our first three campgrounds in our summer trip and moving our departure date from 6/19 to 7/6. That may change too but we are trying to get back to normal in segments.
It was a strange Memorial Day. Only recovering from Kelly's 5/25 birth in 1966 has found me so in need of healing. Connie stopped by for a two hour visit. Other than that we watched a lot of war footage in remembrance of the day. I am having soreness in my calf still but walking better. I have better balance and stability but not much energy. Apparently this is to be expected.
Kara was able to get into my records from the hospital and we are shocked at my numbers. The heart enzyme was so high is why they are checking further for a heart attack. My DVT number which indicated a 0-.5 range came in at 20!! You could look down the list and see all the out of whack numbers during "the event" and then mostly returning to normal. The vein and heart are the focus today as Kara sets up my appointments.
I have dodged a massive bullet. The pulmonologist said "your life changed forever on Tuesday." I don't want to believe I can't return to an energy level within my restrictions to keep on going. Long rides are certainly out and our overseas travel may be at an end too. The RV can be stopped at every rest area if necessary and as many days as needed can be used to get somewhere. Our Hawaii trip will more than likely be cancelled. The long Toronto to Vancouver flight is stumbling block #1 and five days at sea out of the reach of emergency medical care is #2.
I cannot tell the folks around me who are aware of all this how much their responses have meant to me and our family. Kara has been impressed with our support system. We are all in this together. Prayer Warriors Unite!
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