On Wednesday, September 23rd, I went to the Anytime Fitness in Marysville for my workout, as I typically do Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. After I finish ten minutes on the stationary bike, I normally do ten minutes on the elliptical. I had no problems on the bike, but once I got on the elliptical I noted an excruciating pain in my left leg. I barely got 2 and a half minutes in, when I couldn’t take it anymore. I got off the elliptical and sat in my wheelchair trying to assess things, when my dad noticed that my left leg looked swollen. So my sister, Laurie, borrowed a measuring tape, and my left thigh was almost 3 inches larger than the right.
So we decided that rather than mess around, I should just go to the emergency room. We got out to the van to load me up, and the lift was not working properly. Apparently the hydraulic motor had burned out. It seemed as if Murphy’s Law was in effect. So my dad switched the lift over to manual operation, where he’d have to pump it to get me into the van. Then manually stow the lift under the van. Fortunately, we’d been through this before. But in times past, it was always just a blown fuse. This was something bigger.
I arrived at the ER at about 1:45. Fortunately, it wasn’t terribly busy. Within 20 minutes they had me in a room. Everything slowed down from there on out. After about 45 minutes the ER doctor arrived at my room. I explained that the leg only hurt when I was on it. So the doctor started applying pressure with his right hand just above my kneecap. Him, “Anything?” Me, “Nope.” So he proceeded upward and came to my groin with the pressure. “That hurts.”
The doctor ordered a Doppler ultrasound exam on my leg, with an emphasis on my groin, as well as x-rays on my knee. My dad went with, but before they were finished with the x-rays the doctor stopped by my room and told Laurie that there was a blood clot in my groin. They were getting a hold of my primary physician, Dr. Somerville, to workout a medication plan. I don’t know whether or not they ever got a hold of him since his office is closed on Wednesday afternoon.
The ER doctor prescribed Xarelto and set no physical restrictions, other than keeping my leg elevated until the swelling subsided. But unnervingly, while sitting in the hospital pharmacy waiting for the prescription to be filled, an ad to join a civil suit against Xarelto aired. “If you or a loved one has suffered internal bleeding, stroke or death while using Xarelto, call 1-800-BAD-DRUG” Hopefully, I won’t be needing that number!
By the time we left it was 7:45.
Those of you who know me well, know that I’m not going to let a blood clot slow me down. Especially when I have concert tickets!
So the next night, Thursday, September 24th, my parents and I saw Jason Gray in concert at Hillside. (picture above) It was an awesome show! Jason is an excellent artist, and he’s funny as all get out too! By answering some trivia about Power 88.3, I also won Toby Mac’s newest album, This Is Not A Test.
