A bumpy week

I was planning to have posted an update earlier this week but it's been a wild week for me.

Last Friday, I experienced a burning pain on the left side of my chest. I went into my cardiologist and my heart checked out fine but my lungs were inflamed. He prescribed some steroids and sent me home. The weekend went fine but the pain didn't subside. We called the pulmonologist Monday morning and he got me in right away for a CT scan.

We arrived at Community Hospital after lunch and were taken back to the Radiology Dept. They got me onto a gurney and placed me on a special mat called a HoverMat. They inflate the HoverMat to basically glide me over to the CT table and they can do it with a couple fingers. It was so cool and it made things much easier on me.

The problems started when they tried to start an IV for the dye used in the scan. They needed to use a large gauge needle and they couldn't find a good vein. The flight paramedic was called in and she was eventually able to get it started. They put me in the CT and tried to administer to the dye but my vein couldn't handle the dose.

We discussed our options and all they could do is put in a central line into my femoral vein. They wheeled me back to the emergency room and prepped me for the procedure. The doctor came in and began putting in my central line. It was pretty uncomfortable and he had troubles getting it in. On the third try they used an ultrasound and finally they had success. I was taken back to the CT and we got some really great images.

To make a long story short, they found three small blood clots in my left lung. The doctor started me on blood thinners and put me in ICU for overnight observation. Tuesday afternoon they removed my central line and discharged me. I was sent home on Coumadin and there will be pretty frequent blood draws until my levels become stable.

I'm feeling pretty good today and thank god this week is over :-) Things could always be worse they say and I am so blessed to have had awesome medical care through this episode. Next week things should be back to normal and we will be back in Helena for more legislative testimony. That's all for now and I'll back next week with some pictures.

Mark