Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘blood clots’

Sunday Update 5/12/13

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 12, 2013| 9 Comments »

Well, I’m still off my game. I only exercised two days, and I didn’t write at all this past week. I had big plans to do a lot of writing yesterday, but I had lots of company, and sometimes company is just more important, you know? Writing will wait, but the people in my life have to come first. That’s just the way I roll. And it seemed like every time I had plans to write during the week, something came up. It was just one of those kinds of weeks.

On another note…hubby and I watched Jack Reacher Friday night (maybe that was one of the things that came up, LOL). I really, really loved that movie. I had qualms about seeing it because of the casting of Tom Cruise. Jack Reacher is suppose to be 6’5″ and between 220-250 lbs. All muscle, of course. You can see why Tom Cruise wouldn’t have been my first choice for the role. When I found out who they had cast, I was ALL bent out of shape. But I will admit, he didn’t do a bad job at all. I still would have cast someone bigger and tougher, but Tom Cruise did fine with the acting. I really enjoyed the movie, and hubby did, too.

It’s only two weeks until my vacation. Luckily, we had already paid for everything before hubby’s hospital stay, so we’re able to go. We’ll just have to pay for food, but since we’re staying in a condo (shared with friends), we can buy groceries just like we would at home instead of going out for every meal. We REALLY need this vacation. I need to just let go of all the stress and just enjoy myself for a little while. One thing we’ll have to be careful about is going too long without stopping on the way. We usually stop at least three times during an eight hour trip, but hubby needs to stop more often this time. Long car rides can actually CAUSE blood clots, and we have to make sure the one in hubby’s leg doesn’t get worse. We don’t want any more breaking off and going into his lung now that his lung is getting better. Life seems to be looking up a little now. I want to keep it that way for awhile, at least what we can control.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Wednesday Update 4/17/13

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2013| 24 Comments »

I debated on whether or not to link up to the linky tool today. I don’t really have anything to report for ROW80 except for one thing…the authors in this community have really rallied together to help me in so many ways. Even when you all just stop by with prayers, thoughts, or virtual hugs, it means a great deal to me. The support in this community is phenomenal, and I am so grateful to every one of you. I’m also so very grateful for the increased book sales and the contributions you have made to the fundraiser Kait has set up for my family. I had no idea she was going to do that, and I still don’t have words to express how I feel about that. It’s kind of embarrassing to NEED help, but I know I shouldn’t feel that way. I’ve always enjoyed giving to fundraisers when I could, but I never thought I would be a recipient. Kait has a heart of gold, and so do those of you who have helped. And Anya is still talking about all this on Facebook, trying to help me with book sales.

So here’s a report for those of you who are wondering how hubby is doing. First of all, I’ve realized he was more seriously ill than I really knew. I knew it was bad, but just not how bad. The clot in his lung could have caused so many problems. Most of you know my best friend died of this same thing, but apparently she didn’t die the way I thought, now that I know more about it. I thought the clot left the lung and went to her heart. That’s not the way it works. From what I’ve read, the clots that go to the heart and brain are from the arteries. The ones that travel to the lungs (and these are more common) come from the veins (mostly in the legs). Clots in the lungs cause lack of oxygen, and that can affect many other parts of your body. Many people go into shock from clots in the lungs. The reason hubby was in ICU for so long was because his oxygen level wasn’t coming up enough. When they were able to turn his oxygen down a bit, he was put into a regular room. But his blood still isn’t thin enough to go home. I don’t know when he’s going to get out of the hospital.

So, I’m working some every day now, although not the whole day. I’m going back and forth from work and the hospital. My husband will be out of work 2-4 months, and he is the major source of income. The medical bills will be pretty big because insurance doesn’t pay it all. So the fundraiser Kait set up is going to help a lot. I’m so, so grateful.

I just want to say a word about the hospital. I live in a fairly small city. The hospital here doesn’t have the best reputation, and most people go to one of the two larger hospitals about 40 miles away. I had a friend upset me yesterday because she begged me to get a second opinion. But I can say that my husband had been treated with the utmost care at this facility. Everyone has been professional, but also very, very kind. The doctors are great, the nurses are awesome. There’s always a smile on everyone’s face. And I’ve been reading a lot about his situation, and the research I’ve done shows that the hospital is doing everything they are supposed to do in this situation. I don’t know why people always talk about the negative things and rarely talk about the positive things. This world would be a much better place if people would just be nice to each other and do the best job they can do, no matter what it is.

I didn’t mean to get so long-winded. But I guess I’ve just needed to let some words out. Because, you know, that’s what writers do. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Sunday Update 4/14/13

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 14, 2013| 45 Comments »

Those of you who follow my blog know what’s going on. My husband has been in ICU with a blood clot in his lung and another in his leg. This has involved getting to see him four times a day and spending most of the rest of the days and nights in the waiting room. Luckily, I had my own little cubicle. Yesterday, he was moved to a regular room, and they found me a recliner to sleep in. Let’s just say the couch in my cubicle was much more comfortable. I’ve had very little sleep. My arms kept going to sleep when I lie on my side.

I was so strong for the first three days, but these last couple…I keep bursting into tears. Stress, fear, lack of sleep, it all takes it’s toll. I was told it could take a couple of weeks for these clots to dissolve. We are both out of work, obviously, at the moment. Oh how I wish my book sales would take off for just a little while so the lack of work wouldn’t hurt so badly.

So, anyway, I guess it’s obvious I didn’t get any writing done. Maybe things will get better later in the week….

Read Full Post »

A Quick Update

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on April 12, 2013| 28 Comments »

Hubby is still in ICU. He has a blood clot in his lung and a big one in his leg. We think it stemmed from his broken ankle. They are giving him blood thinners to try to dissolve them, but right now, he’s in a lot of pain from the clot in his lung. A LOT of pain. So they keep him pretty doped up. There are only four visiting times per day, so I’ve spent a lot of time in my own little cubby in the waiting room, where I’ve slept every night. I’ve been home once to shower in three days, and went in to work for about two and a half hours yesterday. My son is feeding my dogs and cats. I scooped the litter box the one time I was home, so it’s probably pretty rank right now. I have two cats, so it needs scooping daily. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi to everyone and let you all know what’s going on. I just want this to be over soon and have him back home.

Read Full Post »

In Memory of My Best Friend

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 1, 2012| 11 Comments »

One year ago today, I lost my best friend, Arlene. Author Jonathan Eli lost his wife. I told him today that I wanted to do a blog post in memory of her, but I was afraid I would cry all the way through it. But here it is. She was a breast cancer survivor, and she beat that, but she never felt good after the radiation and chemo, even after five years. A year ago, she died from blood clots in both lungs. No one could ever figure out exactly how that happened, but I suspect it had something to do with the fact that she sat too much and didn’t get up and move around. That was mainly due to a bad knee. That’s why I wrote a PSA blog post on blood clots a while back. We don’t know why things happen the way they do. I just think maybe she was so special, God decided it was time for Him to have her. 🙂

Arlene always kept her sarcastic sense of humor through all the bad times with her health. Sometimes, I think about something stupid I do, and I can just hear her up there making fun of me. Every time I play a Big Fish game, I think of how I wish I could tell her about it. We both loved those games. One year, when I went to her house to visit for a week, she and I played those games for hours. I’m always thinking “I need to tell Arlene_____” then I remember she’s gone. But I sometimes tell her anyway, although anyone around me would think I was talking to myself.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know what I’m feeling today. Part of me is sad. Part of me just remembers her fondly and has to smile at all the funny stuff we did together. And there’s a LOT of that. I miss her very, very much, but someday I’ll see her again. I hope she’s not giving the angels too hard of a time. LOL. Here’s to you, Arlene. I’ll always love you.

Read Full Post »

PSA – Blood Clots

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 10, 2012| 8 Comments »

I was reading an article from a link on Darlene Steelman’s Talk About It Tuesday post. It was about a gamer who was only 23 years old and died in a gamer cafe and no one realized he was dead for about nine hours. He died from apparent cardiac arrest due to blood clots. Similar incidents have happened with gamers going hours without getting up because they are so engrossed in a game.

In May of last year, my best friend died of blood clots in each lung. It was believed that her lack of movement caused this. She had a bad knee due to an injury when she was younger, and the surgeon wouldn’t operate until she lost a great amount of weight. In the meantime, she could barely get around and spent most of her time at home and at work sitting.

I said all that to say this. We, as writers, need to be aware of the time we spend sitting and writing. Sometimes we can get so involved in our story that we just can’t stop. But, please, try to get up and move around from time to time. When my friend died, I really started thinking about this. Then, when I read the article, it really made me nervous for myself and all of you. I know some of you are already aware of the importance of taking breaks, and some of you are exercising. That’s great. But I know a few of you sometimes mention you aren’t getting exercise and that you spend hours writing. Please take care of your health. Take breaks. Get up and walk around for awhile. Get that blood flowing.

Ok, preaching is over. 🙂

Read Full Post »