It's so crazy to think how 1 single event can greatly affect someone's life. Some for the better... A poor person winning the lottery. That blind date you didn't want to go on that ended up being the love of your life. Taking a new job you were scared to accept which lead to the career of your dreams and SO many more possible combinations of positive cause and effects. But some events are not so great... A bad car wreck, a break up, got fired.... In 1 second, the way you know life can change in an instant. I have one of these type of stories to tell.
This past super bowl Sunday, my DIY self decided instead of paying the painter that had quoted me $100 (yes, only $100), that I would do it myself. Everything done except the fireplace and I knew that part would be a cinch.... Literally half way through the project, I jumped off the base of the fire place and completely turned my ankle. Why didn't I just hire the painter?
Unfortunately, around a week after spraining my ankle I started back tracking....the pain had gone from mild back to excruciating right above my right ankle. It felt like when I walked my muscles were going to rip from the bone, like I had a pulled muscle or a charlie horse all the time..... The thought of having to walk turned into a living nightmare. From ace bandages, IcyHot, hot baths, and even using a rolling pin on my calf muscle, I had ran out of options. I broke down just shy of 2 weeks after my accident and went to an ankle and foot specialist. X-rays came back fine, and he said my sprain was healing great but he thought my pain was caused by tendinitis in the muscle that connects my foot arch to my lower leg. He put me in a boot to wear a couple weeks and sent me on my way. I was a happy camper and was so thankful nothing was broken in my ankle.
Valentine's weekend followed and the thought of celebrating made me cringe... I spent the weekend in the house gracing the couch as my husband pampered me. By Sunday I thought, I think I'm getting better! Winter graced us with snow and Monday we got to spend another day on the mend working from home. Tuesday, 5 days after visiting the ankle specialist, the snow and ice were still pretty bad and I decided I would set up shop again at home. I got up and showered like I do every morning before work. Little did I know that shower would be the last time I would feel 'normal' for weeks.
The walk from the bedroom to our living room that morning left me winded. I was like "geez, we need to get out of the house, I'm out of breath and being house riden the last few weeks has really gotten me out of shape!". I get up to get a glass of water and think OMG I'm still breathing heavy. I kept saying to my Ish, "am I just crazy or am I breathing heavy?" I can remember saying it like 50 times... I'm sitting there and I think I can feel my heart racing.I take work calls and have to gasp between sentences... I decided to bust out WebMD... Every symptom I click on gives me a warning "go to the hospital" but everyone knows WebMD is crazy! Even though I had convinced both of us all these "symptoms" were just in my head somewhere inside me I still wasn't totally convinced. I tell Ish I'm going to call my mom to see what she thinks.... "Hey Mom! What do you think I should do if I'm having trouble breathing?"... Her response was exactly like I imagined, and is probably the voice that saved my life. I agreed with her if I could get dressed with no problems I would just take a nap, but if I have issues I'll go to the doctor. Well... it didn't take much to convince me a doctor was a must. Putting my clothes on felt like I was trying to get dressed after sprinting for 5 miles. I couldn't even brush my teeth without stopping every couple of seconds to gasp for air. I couldn't even make it the few feet from the house to the car with out stopping to catch my breath. That's when I officially knew something was VERY wrong.
We pulled up into the icy parking lot of urgent care and I'm faced with 5 small steps to the door. Those steps looked like a great alternative to the 30 ft where the ramp to the door started. I took 1 step at a time and by the time I got to the top I honestly thought those were my last seconds alive. I was gasping for air as if there was no oxygen left in the atmosphere. I remember Ish was like "come on! It's freezing." He had absolutely no idea... It's a miracle I even made it into the clinic. It only took the doctor 1 minute with me and they got me in a wheel chair, wheeled me to the car and called the ER to give them a heads up I was on the way with most likely a blood clot in my lungs.
You always think the ER makes you wait and wait... well just show up with blood clots and they practically escort you back to a room immediately. My pulse was 170+ and I was hot mess. Within just a few minutes they were doing ultrasounds of my legs for clots... Talk about a painful experience as they located the 3 large clots in my right leg. One in the ankle, one behind the knee and one in my thigh. I had a very serious DVT. I was told not to get up or move around much. The ultrasound technician gave me the heads up if another clot made it to my lungs I would die. 2 shots of blood thinners in my stomach later, I was told my next stop was ICU.
I had a chest x-ray and a cat scan of my lungs to check out the severity of my pulmonary embolisms (lung clots). They found 3 sub massive clots in my lungs and the doctor was shocked at how well my body was dealing with such a severe issue. Hooked up to oxygen, not even allowed to get up to pee (peeing in a bed pan is a whole other post) I was thankfully surrounded by my family. Even during a major snow storm when KY and TN were in a state of emergency my whole family showed up late at night to be by my side.
Not a lot of sleep is had in the ICU. Lights, people, monitors, sounds... It's always something. Poor Ish was stashed in the corner of the room in a recliner pretending to sleep. 5 AM rolls around and in rolls a nurse to perform a heart echo. It was pretty cool to watch as she analyzed all my heart valves and blood flowing in and out. Little did I know at the time she was looking for damage caused by the clot that has passed through my heart approximately 10 PM the night before. Youth was on my side and my heart, while strained due to the clot, showed very little damage. If I had been older, the clot would have most likely killed me.
My sister was designated for PR as she did my make up and sent out facebook updates on my health. Mom and dad were the perfect parents making me feel loved and helping me with anything I needed. Ish's calm demeanor kept me comforted and my friends that called, texted, visited and said prayers for memade me feel so special and loved...2 days in the ICU and 3 nights in a regular hospital room later I was allowed to go home. Still moving super slow, my pulse still high and breathing still problematic, I could be in the comfort of my own home.
God answered my prayers... 3 months of xarelto blood thinners ended a few weeks ago after I passed a breathing test. 100% oxygen levels and I feel great! Last week I had my blood drawn and I have been given the clear on having a blood clotting disorder.
Most people look at me and assume my obesity is the reason for blood clots but as an education, being over weight does not cause clots. Obesity gets that bad rep because often fat people are more sedentary which can lead to blood clots.The reason I have heard over and over from each and every doctor I have visited is birth control and my sprained ankle... the perfect storm for disaster. The chances of clots are slim due to both, but the combination at one time, lead to one potentially deadly scenario. I was on a generic of Yaz called Junel. Yaz type birth control actually has a higher risk for clots and I urge anyone that is on birth control or actually taking any medicine to really take side effects seriously. Now I feel like if you don't have to take it, don't. Doctors never want me to return to oral contraceptives to keep my risks lower and currently I am not taking any medication and hope to stay that way for a very long time.
You never think at 29 things like this will happen. In a blink of an eye my life could have ended unexpectedly. I really do believe all the prayers saved me and God's healing power has given me this second chance in life. Not everyone gets that 2nd chance and I don't plan to take it for granted.
Again I think, Why didn't I just hire the painter? LOL
