Throughout my lifetime I have been put through a lot of trials and tribulations when it comes to my health. People have told me that my body is so weird and the things that have happened could have only happened to me that I should write a book. I told them I didn't think anyone would read it.
The current thing I have been dealing with since December 30, 2013 is blood clots, lots of them, all over my abdominal area. I attribute them building up from the fall down our basement stairs the December 2012 wherein I sprained both ankles very badly and my tailbone (which we are just figuring out). I had to be in air boots on both legs and a wheelchair for about 3 months and we did several road trips while my legs were in them and didn't take enough breaks apparently. I had gone down to Atlanta at least 2 times which round trip was about 1000 miles before mid May.
In mid May, we sold our 4 door sedan on the way out of town and had a really cool rented Mercedes to drive up to my husbands family to celebrate his b-day etc. in Iowa. When we left them, we headed across to Queens, NYC where we picked up our new, used Lexus IS-C which Bill drove home while I drove the Mercedes home. The whole road trip was 3300 miles.
I was having problems breathing prior to this trip but we didn't think anything of it. When I got back I checked in with the doctors and there was nothing on x-rays etc. So we move forward to August when I go down to GA for the court case of Andrea Sneiderman in Dunwoody, GA.I drove to the court daily and back to my folks. I was down there for about 2 weeks. so probably about 2500 for that trip.
We went down for my birthday to celebrate so that was 1000 round trip on mileage. We went down again for Thanksgiving and I was starting to have issues but not as obvious as later. so another probably 1500 given all the shopping I did.
By the time we head to Iowa for Xmas I can't move 5 feet without needing to sit. I can't walk up a set of stairs without needing to sit to catch my breath etc. It was extremely bad. By the end of the trip my in laws were scared and my husband and I were as well.
I went a total of probably over 10,000 last year road tripping and it caused blood clots galore. I got an x ray and the x ray reader actually came in and said both lungs were full. I went and picked my husband up at work on my way back to the Dr.'s office as they are all around the same area.
They told me flat out that had I not come in on December 30th, 3 days later I would have been dead. I apparently had clots in both lungs, one in the right atrium, and one in the lower abdomen in the vena cava vein that was 14cm long. I had gone right from the dr.'s office to the hospital across the parking lot. From there a week and a day later I was transferred by ambulance to UNC due to the 14cm one so they could do a procedure with what they call thrombeletics to break up that one clot.
I was brought into the surgical area and the stuff was started and then I was to stay flat on my back and not to move for 24 hrs. If you know me, you know I have a low back injury and can't lay flat on my back so I whined all night and drove my roommate batty! The nurse came in and scolded me for something I couldn't help.
When they came in to put a pillow under that side to try and make it better that same nurse grabbed my shoulder which had a torn ligament from another incident pre hospital and re aggravated it so I was then in tears and going into a panic attack.
Needless to say I was glad to get out of that hospital after 20 days total in the hospital. I had a job with the Census Bureau and went back to it 10 days after the hospital but ultimately was made to quit. My lungs are very damaged from all of the clots I had and apparently are still having form so I'm not able to continue to the job I was doing with them.
I am currently on 3.0 liters/hr of oxygen and not sure if that isn't gonna go up. If I don't have it on, my memory goes kaput, forming sentences is harder, etc. I have finally gotten portable cans that are much easier to carry around to go out etc. I am also on a travel ban by the doctors. I got one pass and that was to go down for my dad's 73rd b-day and to go be with Vinnie Politan for a day at CNN.
You can imagine how much cabin fever I have right now with all the travel I have done in the past :) but my health is more important. It did make me miss my husbands grandfathers funeral which I really wanted to be at and my uncles 50th anniversary of being a priest celebration.
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