Wow! This has been a crazy week for our family! The picture above gives some indication of that. But, don't be fooled by the smile! This picture was taken in the ER, just before we got the news that he was about to be admitted for what turned out to be a 4-day, all-inclusive, non-luxury stay at the hospital. For a perfectly healthy guy with no recent illness, trauma, or accident, it was certainly a surprise to to end up there!
It all started back in April, less than a week after our Trey was born, when Nate started complaining about leg pain, and shortly afterwards observed a red, swollen area on his calf. I encouraged him to check it out, but after internet research and informal conversations with medically-trained associates, we decided it must be tendonitis, but with no known cause. The pain continued, but shifted locations to other places on his leg and in his ribs, and then subsided altogether. Finally, over Memorial Day weekend, the symptoms reappeared--this time behind his left knee, and with pain so severe that he couldn't even walk and had fevers of over 100 degrees all weekend.
We finally got him to the doctor on June 1. Initially, the doctor thought it was some kind of muscle strain, as Nate had no risk factors of any kind for anything else. However, they did a blood test to rule out the possibility of blood clots. An hour after he left the lab, the doctor's office called and said he needed to come back right away. Next came a whirlwind series of events, including an ultrasound revealing a string of blood clots in his left leg, followed by a CT scan in the ER which revealed several more blood clots in his lungs. Hello! This left me more than a little freaked out! Thank heaven that it wasn't worse, and that we caught the problem before it became life-threatening!
What followed was several days in the hospital, where we began the treatment for getting him all better. It essentially includes medications known as "blood thinners" and lots and lots of rest until the blood clots clear up by themselves. We've also learned through this process that the blood clots were caused by a genetic defect, called Factor V (5) Leiden. This is an inherited genetic disorder that can increase one's chance for developing abnormal blood clots. Who knew? Physically, my husband has always been very strong and very healthy, and we had no reason to suspect that he had a condition that could lead to long-term health problems!
For now, he is resting at home and recovering slowly. We're learning a lot about how we will be caring for his condition for the rest of his life. It will be a change in lifestyle, but not super major because we're not exactly extreme sports or thrill-seeking types of people! The bottom line is that I am SO grateful he is okay, and that we know how we can keep him healthy and safe. We NEED our Daddy and love him so!
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