My Life Could Be A Grey's Anatomy Episode

We got some good and bad news this week. Good news is that there is a very slight improvement in my blood clot compared to about 2 months ago. Bad news is the doctor had the interventional radiologist study the films and they have determined that it has been too long for the procedure we were hoping for to be affective. There is nothing the hematologist or interventional radiologist can do to help treat me. The next step, the doctor is referring me to a vascular surgeon. Hopefully, they will have an answer to take care of me. Otherwise, there is no telling how long this very large blood clot will take to resolve.

In other health news, Monday, the doctor sent me to the emergency room for some tests. For the last several days I have been having severe chest pains, and tightness. Making it hard and painful to breath. I have also had a lot of swelling in my arms and hands. At first it was an immediate worry that part of the clot may have broken off and traveled to my lungs causing a Pulmonary embolism. However that is not the case, thankfully. The doctor says I have a pleurisy. And the doctor says I probably have a blood clot in my arms. However, since my treatment would be the same as the treatment I am already receiving for the leg clot, they did not scan my arms. There is no treatment for pleurisy. You just treat the pain. I'm already on heavy pain medications so there was no reason to keep me in the hospital. They sent me home and I'm back to resting. I was told it takes anywhere from a few days to two weeks for the pleurisy to go away.

"What is pleurisy?

Pleurisy is swelling (inflammation) of the thin layers of tissue (pleura) covering the lungs and the chest wall.

The outer layer of the pleura lines the inside of the chest wall, and the inner layer covers the lungs. The tiny space between the two layers is called the pleural cavity. This cavity normally contains a small amount of lubricating fluid that allows the two layers to slide over each other when you breathe.

When the pleura becomes inflamed, the layers rub together, causing chest pain. This is known as pleuritic pain.

Pleurisy is sometimes called pleuritis.

What causes pleurisy?

In young, healthy people, an infection of the lower respiratory system by a virusor bacteria may cause pleurisy. Pleurisy usually lasts a few days to 1 or 2 weeks. In very rare cases, the virus or bacteria may spread and cause pleurisy in others.

Other causes of pleurisy include air leaking into the pleural cavity from a lung (pneumothorax), injury to the chest (such as a broken rib), tuberculosis or other infections, or a tumor in the pleura.

Other conditions may also cause pleurisy. These include rheumatoid arthritis,lupus, sickle cell crisis, pulmonary embolism, or pancreatitis. Pleurisy may also develop as a complication of heart surgery.

What are the symptoms of pleurisy?

The symptoms of pleurisy are chest pain and difficulty breathing. The chest pain usually starts suddenly. People often describe it as a stabbing pain and it usually gets worse with breathing. The pain:

• May always be present, but it usually gets worse when you breathe in. You may avoid breathing deeply to prevent the pain.
• Usually is on only one side of the chest.
• May extend to a shoulder or the belly.
• Is usually worse when you cough, sneeze, or suddenly move.
• May ease when you hold your breath or press on the painful area." (www.webmd.com)

Check out my new WHEELS!

I'm officially OLD. No, I did not turn 30 yet. I got a wheel chair! Thanks to this chair, I can get around in the downstairs of the house easily and go outside the house and to my appointments without passing out, from standing and walking with my walker. Whohoo!

There's nothing real pretty about it. Not exactly on the list of most fashionable accessories to add to your wardrobe. So to make it a little more me, I decided to decorate it with ribbon. So I made two bows to add to my chair. Now I'm styling.

(I'm exhausted and in pain, early bedtime tonight.) Look for current Health updates to come, from doctors visit, report from interventional radiology, ER visit, and more...

Candice's Day In The Emergency Room: UPDATED 02/12/09

For those of you that may have have been keeping up with us on Twitter, or Facebook, know that today was a rough day. For all those that have not heard. I took Candice to the doctor first thing this morning, her ENT said her lungs did not sound good at all, she had some stridor and was dehydrated. She spent all morning throwing up. More like day..cause it totaled up to 16 times. The doctor sent her down to the Emergency Room for a work up. She got fluids, electrolytes, blood work, breathing treatments, nausea meds and steroids. Turns out they think the respiratory infection she was diagnosed with about 2-3 weeks ago, caused some narrowing in her airway. You just never know with our little Candi-cane. Even though she has had reconstructive airway surgery, due to the subglottic stenosis that she got after the prolonged intubation while she was in the NICU for five months, her airway does have a more likely chance of becoming compromised when she is sick. So an illness that our other kids get, can affect her in a more serious way. Thankfully, we have been really lucky up to this point and she has done really well. But we still have so much to be thankful for, because Candice was released from the hospital and is home tonight in her own bed. Hopefully she will have a good night, and can keep from throwing up. Soon as we left the hospital she threw up all over the car. But, hopefully tomorrow will be a much better day. Great news though, her ears look great, tubes are functioning perfectly and her hearing test today was completely normal. Yeah! She will be with me for the day tomorrow, while the other kiddos go to school. Mommy's gotta take care of her baby!

Update: Candice had a good night at home. She threw up first thing this morning, but has been fine since, Been able to eat small amounts and actually using the restroom today. So great sign that she is back to being hydrated and feeling better. :) She stayed home from school today, which I think she was way to excited about. She sounds way better, not perfect and still has the cough but breathing fine and that's what counts. Hehe!