So, here I am. Day #5 at Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis. It has been quite the long weekend getaway. I gave birth to Emma Claire here and did not plan to be here again until August for baby boy's birth. But, I have to say I am happy to be here.
The past couple of weeks have been about learning to live with a lot of pain in my left leg. Two weeks ago, today, I went in to the first available OB provider to have it examined because it was swollen and numb-ish (the RN at work said I should get in right away). I was sent for an venous ultrasound that showed "sluggish" blood flow, but no clot. This was a relief at the time, but in the days following, the pain just continued to increase. I went from running 20+ miles a week prior to this to only being able to walk a few minutes at a time, to not being able to eat/sleep/stand or do anything because of the pain. So, on Thursday, April 29, I went in again to see my OB doc and within the first 5 minutes of being there, he had scheduled another ultrasound and possible MRI for me at Abbott, said he is quite certain I have a clot and will need to be admitted. I drove myself here and here I am now.
It has been an interesting series of events. They decided the best route to
take was to insert a filter in my Inferior Vena Cava to prevent any clots that would potentially dislodge from moving to my lungs (which is the greatest risk of this whole situation). See the snazzy little device to the right. So, Thursday night, they took me to the cath lab to do this and also to remove the clot, best they could (thrombectomy). Everyone on the team was outstanding. They techs in the cath lab were joking around and immediately welcomed me to "the party". They asked me what I wanted to listen to - the Ipod was playing. Led Zeppelin was on the playlist. The OB doc and the interventional radiologist felt like family there for me. It was actually the most relaxed and pain free I had been in days. They inserted the filter through a port in my neck and inserted a central line (which has always made me uneasy in our cardiac patients - doesn't seem so scary now). This is when they found the second clot. Apparently, there was also a large clot in my Inferior Vena Cava that they weren't able to see on the ultrasound because of the placenta. They went in through a vein behind my knee to begin removing the clots. They were able to create a channel through the first (the lower clot in the left iliac) to get to the second (in the IVC). The Dr. told me to let him know right away if I started to feel any shortness of breath or anything once they started removing it. Within a few seconds of the device turning on, I felt short of breath/funny/tingly. They stopped and I recovered and he said they would try one more time. The same scary thing happened. He said they were finished. My oxygen levels dropped some and the baby's heart rate dropped into the 60s for a bit, so that was scary, but everything came back to normal shortly and up we went to my room - escorted by the OB and the radiologist.
Lots of soreness on Friday. Wasn't able to get up, because they left the sheath in my leg in case they did another procedure. They decided to pull that later in the day and when it was time to get up to move to the transfer bed for the ultrasound - unbelievable pain in the leg. Turns out, the clot had reformed. Yuck. Back to the drawing board...
Lots of discussion between the doctors about what to do now. IF I were not pregnant, the answer would be a no brainer - thrombolytic medications to bust up the clot and placement of a stent. But, too high risk during the pregnancy. The decision - to keep me on the heparin drip for a few days and transition me to Arixtra injections to take until after baby and hope that between the two, the clots stop forming and my body takes over to begin clearing them out and relieve the pain. The procedure WILL come, but after I have baby boy. I have something called May-Thurner syndrome. The anatomy of the vessels in my leg predispose me to clotting. The Femoral artery compresses the Iliac vein to slow blood flow. The only way to "fix" it is to place a stent. There will be lots of follow up blood work, etc to investigate why this happened.
SO - a bit of a change in my daily routines. Injections now (I gave myself one today - minor panic attack, but I did it), lots of follow up, likely lifelong anticoagulation therapy after baby and, of course, the stent placement in the fall.
I am so thankful to be where I am now, however. It could have been much worse. I have received outstanding care in every regard and am just trying to enjoy the "down time". I am thankful for Brad's support and my parents flying up to be with us. Emma Claire has not missed a beat and is happy to have the extra attention from Rowie and Opa at home (not to mention all the apple juice and ice cream she wants - which is the way it should be with grandparents). I am thankful for all of the thoughts, support and prayers from family and friends. Our minister stopped by for a visit and the staff at Calvary childcare has been amazing.
Looks like maybe home today - I am ready now. Pain is better controlled, although still there. I can return to exercise as tolerated and plan to go back to work next week. Will be SO happy to get back into the groove. There should be no long term limitations, except for no contact sports (ha!). I can totally return to running after baby comes.
Life is good.
