Clot or not.

Right: I won a surprise

three day, two night stay at

Middletown's Atrium Hospital.

Thursday I called Dr. Gaeke's office with two questions: 1) Can I go to North Carolina with my family to visit my brother while I'm feeling well and 2) Why does my arm hurt when I raise it? I explained to her that my left arm had been hurting for two days, kind of like a pulled muscle, and I noticed after my shower that all the veins in my left shoulder made a visible a blue spiderweb from my elbow to my collarbone, whereas my right shoulder looked normal, veinless. She said sure, go to North Carolina, but first why don't you go right away for an ultrasound of your arm. She suspected a blood clot.

I packed my car for North Carolina then left for the hospital. I figured I'd go get the ultrasound then head up to Miamisburg and meet up with my sister and nephew to leave for the trip together.  

When I arrived at the hospital, they gave me a plastic buzzer and told me to have a seat. Was I waiting for a table at a theme restaurant or in line for a medical procedure? I sat, the device buzzed, and the ultrasound tech came to get me. She led me back to a small room where I stretched out on the table and stuck my arm out to be covered with cold clear goo. She pressed the wand into my arm, shoulder, side. "I found one," she said after searching a while.

I had no idea this would mean I'd spend the next three days in the hospital. Or the next week giving myself shots in the stomach. Or the next six months on blood thinners. 

I got home last night from the hospital, and here's what I know: it's common for patients with ports to get blood clots. I'd been on 1mG of coumadin (a blood thinner) each day since my port was put in to prevent this from happening, but it didn't work. Docs aren't sure why it didn't. It's a good thing I called when I noticed something was wrong because left unchecked, blood clots can make their way to the lungs, the heart, the brain, which is not good news at all.

I spent the three days in the hospital getting shots of blood thinners and then having my blood drawn to see how it was responding. I responded well to the shots: I began at a .9 and made my way to 1.3 in 24 hours, and they're hoping to get me to a 4 or 5 to break up this clot. I'll have my blood drawn tomorrow to check again. A nurse had to show me how to give myself shots of Lovenox, an blood thinner known for being a budget buster. (Thankfully my insurance covered all but $100. They paid more than $1000.) The injection has to be administered around the belly button at a 45 degree angle. I was terrified of this at first, but was surprised to find it wasn't so bad, wasn't so hard. They told me if I couldn't do it I'd be in the hospital until I learned how, so I guess that was the big motivator. 

Of course the trip to North Carolina is out. My mom, dad, sister, and nephew are all there visiting my brother and his wife and son. And even though I'm sad I'm missing out, it feels good to be home and not bored to death in a hospital bed. My arm's a little sore still, my veins on my left side still prominent. This ordeal on top of everything else I'm going through has me wondering what won't happen to me during this cancer escapade. At least for now I'm feeling pretty good... of course, next chemo is Thursday, so I'd better enjoy it while I can.