A Pulmonary Embolism Story

I've been meaning to write up what happened over the last week and just haven't had a really good chance to sit down and start. This could get kinda long, so bear with me.

A few weeks ago, the week before Thanksgiving, I ended up getting really sick with some form of nasty flu virus. I was at the doctor three different times in four days and no one could seem to figure out what was going on with me, but I knew there was something they weren't figuring out. I wasn't able to breathe -period. My chest hurt, I couldn't stop coughing, and I was coughing up gunk on a regular basis. I had a fever that hovered around 101-102 for several days and was pretty much laid out on my back for almost a week.

Eventually, I did seem to get over the flu part of everything, but the cough never went away. I was feeling pretty good otherwise, so when my friend, Lindsey, invited me to join her at the gym one Wednesday morning a couple weeks ago, I was excited to get back into a gym. We did cardio for 30 minutes and then she showed me how to use a bunch of the weight machines...and we discovered my abnormally short forearms...

That evening I was starting to get a pain in my back, but I assumed it was from working out that morning. The following morning, a Thursday, I woke up in a lot of pain and hardly able to get a good breath. I had to ignore it and move on with my day because it was the morning that Natalie's class would be telling the kids about Mrs. B. I was having a really rough morning and by that night was in so much pain that when Chris came home from work, I laid down for awhile before he left for basketball. I got up and put the kids to bed and went back to bed myself - except that it was impossible for me to find a position in which to get comfortable and I was still having an incredibly hard time getting a deep breath. All I could do was shallow breath and try to relax my body. Finally, I texted Chris and asked him to bring up some Ibuprofen when he got home because I couldn't even move to go get some meds myself.

The next morning I was still sore, but not like I was the day before so I figured the worst was over. That afternoon I went over to Lindsey's so we could work out (or in my case, flop around like a dead fish and nearly knock over her Christmas tree) and I actually was starting to feel better at that point. Chris and I even started a Wii tournament that night.

On Saturday morning, the 1st, I woke up around 4am completely unable to get a good breath, shallow or not. I was in so much pain that I wasn't able to find any position to be able to go back to sleep. At 5am, I took some Ibuprofen and settled down in the recliner because sitting was the only position I could find any form of relief. I texted my sister, Erika, and asked her what I should do. I describe my symptoms to her (painful breathing, unable to get a breath) and she said I needed to go to the ER - it sounded like a collapsed lung or a blood clot. I am a "wait it out" type of person, so I decided to take a hot shower and see if that would help. When I got out of the shower, I was still barely able to stand up and still couldn't breathe, so I told Chris I was going to the ER.

I made it to the ER around 5:30am and was brought back to a room immediately. I guess they take shortness of breath pretty seriously around there. The first thing they did was draw some blood and do a D Dimer test - which the nurse was telling me it was 95% accurate in detecting blood clots. They also had me pee in a cup and then I was sent back to my room to wait for awhile. They gave me some pain meds as well and they seemed to help take the edge off. I waited for about an hour and finally they came in to tell me that my D Dimer was negative, so no clot, but I had a lot of blood in my urine so they sent me for a CT scan of my kidneys to check for stones.

After waiting for awhile again, they came in to tell me that they didn't see any stones but they did see some fluid around my right lung and that I most likely had pneumonia. I was okay with that. Finally - some answers! The nurse was the one who told me that. The ER doctor came in a few minutes later and said that after she went over the scans she was concerned that there was a blood clot and that my lung was partially collapsed due to the pressure of the fluid around my lung. She wanted to know why a seemingly healthy person would have so much fluid around only the right lung.

I was sent for another CT scan, this time for my chest. They had to use contrast, so that was really uncomfortable because I already had to pee. For those of you that have never had to have a CT scan done using contrast, it is such a weird feeling - it seriously makes you feel like you are peeing and it makes your body HOT. I got back to my room and waited...again...I watched some Informercials and some Law and Order SVU and texted with friends - when I had service. They started me on an IV of fluid to help push the dye out of my system.

After awhile, the doctor came back in with bad news - the D Dimer was wrong. I was in that 5% that had a blood clot that wasn't detected. I had a pulmonary embolism in my right lung and I would need to start on blood thinners right away - and I wouldn't be going home for a few days. I started bawling. I had so many mixed feelings. The first thing I thought was, "My kids' teacher just died of this..." The doctor was awesome and she gave me a big hug and left me alone to make some phone calls. I called Chris first and he was able to get his parents to come be with the kids. I called Erika next and then left a message for Lindsey that ended in a pile of blubbering jibberish. Thankfully she never got the message...that would have been embarrassing...

I honestly don't remember if they explained the course of action with me before or after Chris arrived. He did arrive before I was moved to my room, I know that much. I don't even know what time I got to my room. After I was settled, Chris went home to get some rest. I made more phone calls to explain what happened - I know that I talked to my mom, who was disturbingly unaware of how serious this was, and I talked to my dad and Cherie, and eventually, after some crazy phone tag, talked to Lindsey.

That first night I went for an ultrasound of my legs to check for more clots. While I was there, my brother, Nick and his family came to see me but I missed them. I was so bummed but felt so loved at the same time. The ultrasound came back clear which was a huge relief. I didn't sleep very well that first night. I was on the Heparin drip and it made me have to pee all the time, not to mention that I was still in quite a bit of pain and couldn't get comfortable. Besides, every time I moved I set off the IV alarm because I bent the tube.

The next day they took me off the Heparin drip and taught me how to do the Lovenox injections. There was something sort of exciting about learning how to give yourself shots. At first it was kinda fun. It got old really quick, though. I think it was that afternoon that Beth came to see me. That made me so happy! I started the Warfarin (Coumadin) that night. I was hopped up on some pretty good drugs while I was in the hospital so I was pretty loopy most of the time. I cried when one of my nurses left and told her I loved her. When the next nurse came, I thanked her for being "ever so nice to me." I remember their names were Kara and Mary Ellen. I liked them. They were awesome.

Unfortunately, I was also really nauseous while I was there. I felt so sick to my stomach and nearly threw up several times, so I had to stay an extra day until they could get my nausea (and pain) under control. Finally, I got the okay to leave that Tuesday morning (the 4th). Lindsey came to see me (with Pax and Parker) before I left and brought me lottery tickets. I lost, but Parker won. Too bad for him, I have his ticket, bahaha. She also brought me some chocolate because Natalie told her that I wanted chocolate. I still have half the candy bar in my purse waiting for me when I am in need of chocolate again.

I had to do the Lovenox shots through Thursday afternoon. It's Sunday night now and I have a giant bruise the size of a baseball on my stomach. I've had several blood draws done to check my INR and have had my Coumadin adjusted. The pain is mostly gone, but mornings are still rough. I was coughing up blood for a few days and even had nose bleeds. Thankfully that is all done now. I just am really sore in the morning but by afternoon I'm doing much better.

Through all of this I have found out that I am surrounded by the  most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for. They've helped me with meals, rides, the kids, prayers, babysitting, hugs, comfort, encouragement, support, a listening ear, cheering up, and have gifted me with flowers and other treats. I am beyond blessed and cannot thank everyone enough.

I have no idea what the next few months is going to bring. I've had to make a lot of changes, but I know that in the long run it'll be so much better. There is a reason this has happened to me and while I've yet to figure out completely why, I know the first step was to learn that I am not alone and that I am loved.