Okay, a couple of weeks ago I had a in-office procedure done to my right leg. Afterward, Catfish'n asked if I was going to blog about it. I told him, NO, because it was a little too personal. Although, after my little stay in the hospital, over the weekend, I thought I might let you all in on this journey that started over a year ago.
Christmas 2008 - My sister was concerned about a spot on my shin that looked suspeciously like a blood clot. She told me I need to go see my doctor.
Spring 2009 - Went in for my yearly and the nurse practitioner looked at the place on my shin, sent me straight home that day and told me to keep my leg up, and made an appointment with me with my primary care physician the next day. Went to see the primary doc and he made an appointment with a vein specialist for me.
June 2009 - Before I can see the specialist a "mapping" of my legs using ultrasound is ordered and I have this done. Mapping of deep veins and superficial veins.
Little sidebar here - I was very concerned at this point about blood clots forming on our long plane ride when Musician and I were going to be traveling to Europe. So, I was really glad to have this done just weeks prior to leaving on our trip. Then when we returned the doctor ordered another one done. I wasn't sure why, but I felt like God was looking out for me on this.
Late July 2009 - Another deep vein ultrasound preformed and no blood clots found, after returning from our trip.
August 2009 - Saw vein specialist. Told me this place on my leg was just a complication of my venous reflux disease (caused by severe varicous veins) and that I really needed to have a procedure to close the saphenous vein (large vein on the inside of leg). If not I will end up with eventually end up with skin ulcers that will not heal because of poor oxygenation and wounds that might not heal and possible amputation. That is worst case scenario. However, for my insurance to pay I would have to wear compression stockings for six months. Although, the compression stockings were not going to do anything for me because my legs were so severe. Just a hoop we had to jump through for insurance. A little bit more information, by the time the six months was over this doctor would not be preforming vein surgerys and he would refer me to an associate.
November 2009 - 1st vein specialists associate has his nurse call me to set up a consult appointment for surgery in December. We decided to wait the six months out and she will call me in January to set up an appointment.
December 2009 - I start to experience pain in my right leg, dizziness, shortness of breath, and a racing heart. Also an ulcer is forming on a exsisting scar on this right leg. I call doctors office and we set up appointment. Doctor doesn't think I have a blood clot in this leg, but to be on the safe side, he ordered an ultrasound done. No blood clots were found in this study either.
January 19th, 2009, 12:30PM - I have my VNUS Ablation procedure done, and a stabectomy done to the dark area on my shin that looked like a blood clot (it was just an area where a lot of superficial veins had formed and a lot of blood was going to that area). I miss the rest of that day of work and the next day. Returning to work on Thursday.
Thursday, January 21st (my birthday!) 2009, - A lot of swelling of my leg. My mom encourages me to take ib and acetametaphin to reduce the swelling and to curb the pain. This works so I continue this regiment and have less pain and swelling from here on out. At this point in the whole scheme of things I am starting to have shortness of breath when I just walk maybe half a football field, and when I walk up or down the stairs at work. This is unusual, and I note it, but I thought maybe it was my allergy induced asthma flaring up because of the wood we had been burning in our Buckstove, fireplace insert at home (certain woods that tend to be too smokey cause this problem for me). So I don't really think I'm having a problem, but it hasn't ever affected me being out of breath going up and down the stairs at work, or walking a short distance in the building. However, I still chalk it up to the asthma, even thinking maybe I need to call my primary doctor and get a new prescription for an enhaler that I haven't used in over two years. Although, I quickly even dismiss those thoughts.
Monday, January 25th, 2009 - Go in for my recheck with doctor's nurse to look at my leg and see how everything is healing. She asks if I'm experienceing any chest pain. I tell her, NO, and dismiss the idea that I have been out of breath walking up and down the stairs at work, etc. Because I'm still thinking it's the wood we've been burning. Then I go for my ultrasound to make sure no blood clots occured because of the vein procedure. The nurse said she would call me if they saw anything. Never got a call so figured things were fine, and they were she said later according to the ultrasound.
Friday, January 29th, 2009, 1:20PM - Come home from work, and I am really having trouble breathing and now there is a sharp stabing pain in my right side. Although, I am chalking it up to a gas pocket or something, trying to dismiss thoughts of a heart attack, stroke, etc. Catfish'n and I even watch a couple of movies on the VCR in the afternoon (Rocket Man and A Christmas Story), as we're doing this I am Googleing symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, complications of a VNUS procedure, etc.
Friday, January 29th, 2009, 6:40PM - I'm still sitting on the couch Googleing, but I am suppose to go to a Stamp'n Up event at a friends at 7pm. I had looked forward to it all week, because I hadn't gone to one since school had started. Although, I was really feeling tired and the pain was getting worse, and I really couldn't breath. Got up off the couch and got myself ready to go. Arrived at the stamping event on time and tried to have fun. Got to chit-chat with ladies I hadn't seen for a while. Although, I wasn't talking much, talking required extra breathing.
Friday, January 29th, 2009, 9:45PM - Arrived home. Told Catfish'n upon my arrival that something was wrong with me and maybe we needed to go to the emergency room. He asked what was wrong and I told him I had a terrible pain in my right side in my ribcage, lung area, and that I was short of breath. He said the same thing I had been thinking. It is probably just the fireplace. I tell him, NO, I sort of thought that too, but this is something different because I wasn't wheezing. He says he'll take me if I think we should go. Then I start thinking, OMG, it is probably just gas and I'm being a hypochondriac, etc. So I wash my face and take my make-up off, put on my PJ's and get ready for bed, trying to dismiss worse thoughts. I'm just tired and need a good nights sleep.
Friday, January 29th, 2009, 10:00PM - My stepmom calls to tell me she had taken my dad to the hospital. He was scheduled to have hernia surgery this Thursday (the 4th), but he was having severe pain when he got home from work that wouldn't go away and so they went to the emergency room. They were keeping him to do emergency surgery in the morning. I tell her that was funny, but not so, that I had just told Catfish'n that maybe I needed to go to the emergency room. She asked why, I told her, she told me to call Health Connections and ask them what to do and that she would CALL ME RIGHT BACK. Okay, so she meant business and I better call. So I did, the nurse said I needed to be seen right away and if no one could drive me I needed to call 911, DO NOT DRIVE MYSELF. I said there was someone that could drive me. So as we are going to the hospital (I had to got to a different hospital than my dad because of insurance) the pain was getting worse and worse.
Friday, January 29th, 2009, 10:30PM - Arrive at the emergency room, approach the front desk, they ask if they can help me, I tell them I am having a pain in my check and shortness of breath. That's all I had to say and they whisked me away to a room and immediately put an EKG monitor on me. That seemed to check out okay, then they took me back to another room. ER doc comes in, asks me a few questions, doesn't think I'm having a heart attack because of no heart history in my family or me having high blood pressure or high cholesterol, etc. He wants to run some tests, one being a CT scan to look for a blood clot. I'm still thinking: this is going to be so embarassing if they end up telling me YOU HAVE GAS.
Saturday, January 30th, 2009, 2:15AM - ER doc comes in and tells me I have two blood clots, one in my left lung and one in my right lung, and that the one in my right lung is a little larger, probably why I am having pain. He tells me the way to treat this is with Heprin. I'm thinking okay, give me a prescription and let me out of here, we have a Power Lifting tournament at the school we have to help with in just a few short hours. Then the more he talks I'm thinking: YOU'RE GOING TO ADMIT ME TO THE HOSPITAL, AREN'T YOU?!?!?!
Saturday, January 30th, 2009, 3:00AM - Admitted to the hospital and another IV line is placed in my right arm, I already had one in my left with IV drip going on there.
Saturday, January 30th, 2009 3:30AM - Taken to my "lovely" room for my Heprin get away weekend!
The pain in my chest felt like someone was just taking my ribcage from inside and with their two hands trying to spread it apart like you would two pocket doors. This continued through about Sunday morning real early. By Sunday the pain was like someone just constantly elbowing me.
While I was there in the hospital they did another ultrasound of my legs to be sure there wasn't any blood clots, and they did an echogram of my heart to be sure the right valves were okay and there were no clots there. Everything checked out okay. So, insurance of course wants me out by Monday since there isn't anything more wrong with me, and my Heprin levels had reached "therapeutic", and we were just waiting on the Coumadin levels to reach "therapeutic". Apparently their thinking was I could achieve this at home by giving myself Lovenox injections. The levels will be monitored by me driving into my primary care physician's lab daily for a blood test, and I will be released to his care for my Coumadin monitoring for the next three to six months.
Monday, February 1st - Released from hospital around noon. Bassmaster brings me home after stopping to pick up the lovely syringes at the pharmacy, and the Coumadin pills. I was glad to be home!! I was looking forward to spending the night in my own bed without being woken up every two hours for vitals, etc. I am still having the pain feeling like someone is elbowing me. It's like when you take a deep breath and that elbowing starts, it takes your breath away. I view the DVD showing me how to give myself the Lovenox injections, thinking I really don't know if I'm going to be able to do this or not, it has to be done within four hours of them taking me off the Heprin. I'm not scared of shots, but I usually don't watch them, thinking this is why is doesn't usually hurt. However, in this case, I'm going to have to watch.
Monday, February 1st, 2:45PM - Surprisingly, it really wasn't as bad as I thought. I have to give myself two shots a day. The shot only comes in 100mg increments and I had to have 180. So, I have to give myself one injection in my love handle on the right side, and then waste 20mg of the other syringe by pushing it out, then on the other side give myself the other injection. Then at around 5:30pm take my Coumadin pill.
Tuesday, February 2nd - Awoke and the pain now felt like someone just poking me with their finger every time I take a really deep breath. I am able to take a real shower in my own home, put make-up on, etc. Drive into the lab to have my PT/INR levels checked. Find out I had an appointment with my primary care doc at 10am but I had missed it. Didn't know this. So they made my appointment with him for Thursday. This is to talk about the Coumadin treatment.
Wednesday, February 3rd - I took one more day off from work. I felt fairly back to myself, just a little light headed yesterday, and a headache always looming in the background. Although, these are side affects of the Coumadin. So, I decided to take one more day off taking it easy and then I will go back Thursday and Friday.
Last night was Ladies Movie Night at the church. We watched the movie Julie and Julia.
As ladies arrived it was just a get acquainted time as well as a little dinner before the movie. We had foot long sandwiches cut up into more lady like sections, as well as 
yummy chicken salad on these wonderful rolls, Heather found at WalMart. There were 
veggies and dip.
There were prizes!! There was a dress up like Julie or Julia contest to win a prize, which was a copy of the movie to take home for their very own. Raven won, isn't she a great Julia, pearls and all!!!
This past Saturday my sisters and I, my oldest niece, Bassmaster and Mrs. Future Bassmaster got together to whip up some China Inn recipes. We met at sister number three's house (she has the biggest kitchen of us all!!!) and started cooking around 2 in the afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa and my 
brother-in-law's mother were to arrive by 6pm for dinner. Dinner was to 
consist of the following: Almond Chicken, Chicken Chow Mein, Egg Foo-Yong, Won-Tons, Crab Ragoons, Fried Rice and China Inn's famous rolls. Yes, we made all of these from scratch!!! What great fun we had too!!! It was a lot of work but believe it or not everything was ready right on time, thanks to everyone working together to pull this off!!! 
This whole idea was possible because Catfish'n and my Dad had gotten The China Inn recipe book for me for Christmas. At that time we had all decided that we sisters would get together and make all the dishes to celebrate my brother-in-law and my birthdays, in January. 
There is a book that I just love to read, in fact, I need to get it for my very own and just haven't done so. The name of the book is Snowflake Bentley. This book is about a man that lived in Vermont that photographed snowflakes, and actually published a book Snow Crystals in 1931. The book contains over 2400 snow crystal images. Bentley ended up photographing over 5000 snow flakes in his lifetime. Everyone thought him a little odd, I guess that's why I like the story and the man that took pictures of snowflakes, I like odd. 
the rack on the back patio. So, Catfish'n, Musician and I moved more wood over on Monday afternoon. I tried by myself to take care of this before Catfish'n got home on Monday. I thought I might get a little exercise and use the toboggan and move the wood. OMG! Two loads and I called it quits. Between pulling the wood up over snow and then the wood falling off, plus I had let Sydney out of her pen to run around while I was doing this - she decided to pull wood off and carry it around the yard no sooner had I put it on the toboggan. People passing by in cars or neighbors looking out their window were probably laughing hysterically. I guess I wouldn't have made a very good Little House on the Prairie mom. I would have caused my family to freeze to death if they were solely relying upon me, LOL!!! 
Some places in the yard have drifted so much that they are up over your knees. This is the south side of the house and the snow is almost over the top of the AC unit. 
Sydney did fairly well all day yesterday outside. The tarp really helped and the new straw. Plus, the sun shown all day in her pen and on her dog house. When I went out to feed and water her I couldn't believe the difference the tarp made in how cold it would have been in her pen without it. Plus the sun shining helped too. After I fed and watered her, I drove down to the feed store and got her a big bone. She hadn't had one of these for a month or so. I had seen her trying to chew on the zip-ties that we had used to help hold the tarp around the dog pen. I thought her having a bone to chew on would break up some of the monotony of the cold. Plus, she has got to be just about as sick and tired of the snow and cold as we all are. (If I would have purchased a bone sooner we might have prevented the heated water dish cord problem.) Then later in the afternoon I could see that it was blowing harder, the sun was starting to go down, her house wasn't in the sun any longer, and I had gone outside to feed and water her again and found it to be just downright colder than earlier in the day. To ease mine and Grandma Jo's minds about Sydney being out in that pen all night, I brought her into the garage. She got fairly calm when she went into the garage and just wondered around. I found a moving blanket and was trying to set the carrier on top of this so the carrier wouldn't be right on the cement floor. Then, I flipped the blanket on up and over the top and around the sides of the carrier. Silly dog, while I was trying to do this she was trying to lay down on it. I think we both communicated to each other that maybe this idea would work out. I told her "IN" trying to get her to go into the carrier. She thought "IN" was on top of the carrier. She jumped on top of the carrier and lay right down, all proud of herself. We went through this a couple of times. Then I took her head and two front paws and was able to start guiding her into the carrier. I then shoved the rest of her into the carrier. She wasn't back pedaling, so I think she understood what I was wanting to do. Only problem, I felt bad that she was going to have to stay in there all night, probably over 12 hours, since I had put her in there around 5pm. So, I would bundle up and go out to the garage about every two hours. Letting her outside to go to the bathroom and get a drink. Small sacrifice for the well being of the animal you're caring for. I know, I am a total sucker for animals. I can't even watch that commerical on one of the local news stations, the one about the abuse of animals. I just hear the music and almost cry. Personally, I think it is totally inhumane to keep her in this carrier for over 12 hours (the main reason why I didn't do it the night before, and then the reason I went out every 2 hrs, last night, to let her out to stretch), but way more humane than leaving her outside in the frigid night. 
