What Ive learned since Halloween. Some of you friends may remember that I posted, with as much levity as possible, a little of my experience being diagnosed with a large blood clot in my left leg on Halloween night. Well, in the interim, I have gained much knowledge that I felt would be unfair not to share. 1. Having a blood clot does not engender the sympathy of say, bone cancer or flesh eating bacteria. My feeble attempts at self pity went mostly scoffed at or ignored. 2. Everyone knows somebody, usually family or close friends, who have died from a blood clot, and they are most eager to share the story with great enthusiasm. Example: My mother in law had a blood clot. They mis-dosed her meds and she had two heart attacks before dying. Or, my personal favorite told to me by my nurse practitioner, I used to work in the cardiac unit and we did all the codes. We had a 36 yr old athlete come in for a routine knee scope, threw a clot in recovery and was coded three times before we lost him. Quite an encouraging tale from the person to whom I have entrusted my primary care! 3. Giving yourself belly shots is not quite as bad as it sounds, but it leaves some very creative shades of blue and purple all over your abdominal canvas! 4. When the finance person at the hospital says, The total charges for your treatment tonight is $420, what she really means is $420 down. In the interim I have received two more bills totaling over $1,ooo. So much for compassion for the uninsured. However, I am extremely thankful that I have the money to pay the bill, however begrudgingly. Many people dont. 5. Walking around with a potentially ticking time bomb in your leg really does give you pause to stop and be grateful, and to ponder again the crossing of the pond. Karen and I have always agreed that I should go last. She is a little older, but mostly its much harder on the one left. And though she would no doubt do whatever it took to care for me should I become incapacitated, it would be miserable for her. She is one of the best teachers I ever met. Nursing, not so much. But I, once again, am reminded that we usually dont get to make that determination. 6. I have learned to appreciate the prayers of friends, and, even strangers for I believe the peace I have felt throughout this adventure has absolutely came on the wings of prayer. 7. Refer back to #2. I have learned that when someone asks, How are you?, the answer is always, Great!, you? 8. Lastly, I have had a chance to reflect on what an amazing life I have had so far. It has been interesting, challenging, scary at times, but most of all great fun. Life really is a sacred gift, and the hope of an even better one to come just makes it that much funner. Peace
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 22:36:51 +0000
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