But it ain't...However it does look like I'm going to make my promised Mile 14 deadline of at least two a month. Since my News Years post of promise and rejuvenation it's been a slog, a horrible painful ordeal . So I guess those of you that could tire of this kind of post and I'll just say that I'm posting this for two reason...one is that it's all I've done, I have nothing else to write about . Two, if this helps anybody in anyway with their own health assessments or maybe Mexico health strategies then it's some of the good that I always say must come from bad.
Having seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Mexican health care through the years MP and I discussed the ' code red ' situation many times. We came to this : if something huge was happening to either of us we would only go to a Mazatlan hospital unless one of the two of us could not get on an airplane. Of course we've had to have treatment here but our strategy however right or wrong was to exit stage left. We've seen to many friends languish in the hospital, charged ungodly amount and held hostage to their credit cards, come down with infections....die...
So, a good three weeks ago I awoke with a stiffness in my left knee like I've never had, I could barely walk. Being an active guy I always have some soreness and of course my neck just keeps getting worse and worse. The leg was somewhat red and I ran a low grade temp for a week or so and the swelling and the pain behind my knee seemed to be better. Of course I at first thought it was a blood clot but it didn't fit the extraordinary calf swelling and calf pain that would signal a Deep Vein Thrombosis, a DVT . In fact I kinda got it in my mind that it was related to my neck issues and maybe that damn osteoarthritis that is taking over my life was now invading my knee.
But Sunday morning a week ago I woke up with severe pain throughout my leg and groin then turning on the light it was obvious my ankle and entire leg was swollen. We were convinced that indeed it was a blood clot . Code red . We call Alaska Airlines get me outa here number and a wonderful woman named Christy in Boise Idaho says how about tomorrow , in less than 24 hours . The flight to LAX was horrible. My neck was actually bothering me the most and once I sat next to the wall in the MZT airport and supported my head against it helped, MP got me boarded first. Once we got through customs and we were relieved to be back in the USA, what ever happened from then on out I new we could deal with. I can't say enough for Alaska Airlines, on the plane or in the terminal they took care of me. In the Board Room we found a high back chair for my neck that I could also elevate my feet. So all be it a little late flight later we went on to Seattle and spent the night. As we waited for our Helena flight the next day I called my Primary Physician and was told ' don't come here, go Straight to St. Peters urgent care when you land, which we did.
Angela Axmann got me right in....Blood work that came back asap and then an ultrasound imaging shows an unusually large DVT from the knee to the foot. Serious. 30 to 40 % of these DVT's have a piece of clot break free and cause an embolism. Of the 30 to 40% that this happen to 25% have instant death....don't get anymore serious than that . So, it's off to the Pharmacy for the the very best blood thinner named Eliquis. Then I'm told what to do and what not to do and especially told what to watch for and when to immediately get to the emergency room. Luckily I have not had any complications . MP and I woke up on Saturday to great relief in that the swelling and redness were obviously looking better. As I type I'm exactly one week out from flying into Helena . Tomorrow I get a follow up Dr. check, I feel better and feel like I'm hopefully over the danger and ready to see what this means for the rest of my life.
So here's a few takeaways :
1. MPeasy is an amazing person...got me here and soooo much more.
2. Tom and Angel, everyone should have friends like them.
3. Alaska Airlines...we try to be loyal to these guys , they're the best.
4. St. Peters Health...in less than two hours had a plan and knew the problem, we even had a few laughs.
5. Compression socks.
6. Stupidity....seems we collide with that in this ole life. I always say you can't worry about what DIDN'T happen, but , you'd be a class 5 dummy if you didn't learn from it.
A. Never have a massage with DVT, it can cut loose a blood clot.
B. don't fly with a DVT, it can cut loose a blood clot.
C. reading and researching the Internet doesn't make you a doctor.
D. Have trust.
E. AND this is a big one that I continuously ignore, because ? well ? #5 , If something is bothering you at age 70 it generally won't just go away, it will and it does get worse, maybe dangerously worse.
F. You can have several things wrong with you all at the same time .
G. You got a good life, take care of it .
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