Friday, December 14, 2007

BAD THINGS COME IN THREES?

Once again, Don is in the hospital. This time something, while unexpected to him, is not as uncommon as you would think.

Today was supposed to be a day off work to finish up my Christmas shopping, to avoid those horrible weekend crowds. Instead, I spent most of the day at the hospital ER.

Don had an early morning appointment to get the stitches out of the incision from the Achilles surgery. He wasn't feeling good last night, and even worse this morning. He complained about not being able to breathe very well, felt lightheaded, and had pain in his right side.

I wondered if he had pulled a muscle using the crutches, causing him the acute discomfort. Arriving at his appointment, I noticed he was moving much slower than any time since being on crutches and also just didn't seem to have the energy to get up and around.

Fortunately, he mentioned it to the doctor, who wondered if it might be a pulmonary blood clot! I never thought of that as being a problem. Apparently, people with leg casts have this problem more than you would think. He recommended that he go straight to the ER and get it checked out.

That was at 8:30 am. We arrived at the ER before 9 am. At 3:30 pm, he was still in the ER and nothing had been diagnosed yet as to his problem. This after 2 CT scans and a chest x-ray. I finally left then because they decided to admit him for the night, and went and did a few errands, got something to eat (finally!), and then came back later.

By then, it was determined he had a blood clot in his lungs, so they put him immediately on blood thinners and of course will now have to continue with blood thinners for the rest of his life.

Fortunately he saw his doctor today or who knows what might have happened! It is diagnosed as a pulmonary emoblism, but it might have caused a stroke or killed him. What a weird turn of events! First the cancer, then the Achilles, and now the blood clot. I'm hoping bad things stop at three.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

It may not seem like it, but it is a REALLY good thing that they found the blood clot in his lung. I have a young cousin 35 yrs old who had a stroke on Wednesday.

Anyway, hang in there!

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

How awful! But it WAS a good luck (or someone looking out for you, take your pick) that you were in a place today where the problem could be noticed quickly and addressed.

I hope it's smoother sailing from here!

Born To Endure said...

Good god Vickie..that's awful. Thank god you are there to take care of him, knowing men, he would have waited and maybe had awful consequences. Keep me updated please...

Sunshine said...

Beyond words, my heart goes out to you. "Three" is definitely ENOUGH.
Best wishes and prayers for a warm, caring, joyful.... and yes, medically uneventful Christmas.

Bill Carter said...

Hang in there. They say these things come in 3s and you have certainly had your share of rough luck... time for some good stuff I would say.

zanne said...

oh, how scary! thank god you went to ER and they found it! yes, i'm a believer in the whole bad things happen in 3's , so you're all set -think you can breathe easy now.

Christie said...

Good thing he had a dr's appointment. Who knows if you would have known he had a blood clot otherwise. It was a blessing in disguise. I hope things look up for you from now on.

IronWaddler said...

Vickie,
So glad that he is in thehospital and being taken care of. Hope things head a better direction.

Take care of yourself also.

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

Vicki,

Thanks for your email today. Both of you are in my thoughts. Get well soon, Don.

Nat said...

I'm with Lisa on this. It's a good thing they caught it when they did. Better a few nights in hospital and blod thinners than a few weeks in ICU. (As happened to one of the mom's I know.)

Hang in there. Best wishes for Don.

Nat

Fe-lady said...

My God- if there is anything I can do Vickie, let me know! Wish I wasn't half way across the country-I would take you Christmas shopping, help with cleaning or SOMETHING! Yes, this is certainly enough for Don and you too. Glad they caught the blood clot and that he is still alive and kicking- and knowing Don a little, I KNOW he is kicking....
2008 is almost here, and it will definitely be better for the both of you!

Unknown said...

Thinking of you this morning. Hope things are looking better.

Anonymous said...

That is scary!! I hope things get better soon for you.

Take care of yourself, too :)