Shane is in the hospital
Well I don't know where to begin...
A week ago this past Sunday (so March29th) Shane was having shortness of breath, not feeling himself and some leg pain in his left calf muscle. He went to bed in the afternoon and had night sweats terribly. So Monday morning we went to the doctor. The doc said he had shortness of breath from bad air quality over the weekend and the sore calf was most likely a strained muscle. They gave us some things to look for (changes) and if that happened come in immediately
So Tuesday night Shane had a rough night. Sweats again, pain, moaning a lot. I get up Wednesday morning to his leg swollen up, red and hot to the touch. We called the doc and got in immediately. He told us he wanted an ultrasound of his leg. That was scheduled for later in the afternoon.
We went to the ultrasound and the tech did his good leg, said all looked great. Got to the other leg....silence. They told us to wait as the doc read the results, came back and told us he has blood clots in his leg. We waited for his GP to call back on what to do next. They sent us immediately to the hospital across the street where they met him in the ER with a wheelchair and he's been there ever since.
What we do know is he has dozens of little clots in his lungs. He has a bigger (maybe multiple?) clot(s) in his leg. He is on coumadin (blood thinner) to get his blood to a "theraputic level" and on shots in his stomach to help with the disolving of the other clots. The pulmonoligist said the small clots in his lungs will most likely dissolve in 2 weeks or so. The one in the leg is the troublesome one and will be closely watched too.
Shane didn't really have the typical things that cause blood clots. Those things being: recent surgery, diabetic, long distance travel via airplane. Because there was no answer why they did genetic testing. It turns out that Shane has Lupus Anti-Coagulant which means his blood coagulates in his veins. The symptoms (besides clotting) are: insomnia, sleep apnea, hair loss, digestive upset and more. All of those are Shane to a T. And yet, it was never caught until now.
So he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. We are so lucky that it was caught early and that no clots made it to his heart which is fatal. This condition is hereditary so i have a call into our ped to find out what we do to check or monitor the kids.
So Shane will be released when his blood reaches the theraputic level, he will continue the shots until his lungs are clear. He will have CT scans of his lungs also until those clots clear. He will also have ultrasounds of his leg to monitor that progress and he will get blood draws every 2 to 3 days to monitor the level of his blood. It is a lot to take in but we are managing. I have a lot of help. My mom has watched the kids daily since Wednesday so I can visit Shane. She's cooked for us and been a shoulder too. I don't know what I would have done without her support.
Shane's dad and his wife have been up to see Shane a lot. They have offered their help as well. Shane's brother and wife have been up to visit and offer help. Some of the group that Shane works out with in the gym came to see him. Our dear friend Doug came to see him, Doug's wife Cindy checks on him as well. I know a lot of people are praying and pulling for Shane and it means a lot. I can't mention every person because there are just too many to list. Just know your thoughts and your prayers mean the world to both of us.
I'll keep you updated as I can. With 4 kids (3 of which are sick) and going back and forth to the hospital 2 times a day (most days) it's a little crazy around here.
Love,
Susan
A week ago this past Sunday (so March29th) Shane was having shortness of breath, not feeling himself and some leg pain in his left calf muscle. He went to bed in the afternoon and had night sweats terribly. So Monday morning we went to the doctor. The doc said he had shortness of breath from bad air quality over the weekend and the sore calf was most likely a strained muscle. They gave us some things to look for (changes) and if that happened come in immediately
So Tuesday night Shane had a rough night. Sweats again, pain, moaning a lot. I get up Wednesday morning to his leg swollen up, red and hot to the touch. We called the doc and got in immediately. He told us he wanted an ultrasound of his leg. That was scheduled for later in the afternoon.
We went to the ultrasound and the tech did his good leg, said all looked great. Got to the other leg....silence. They told us to wait as the doc read the results, came back and told us he has blood clots in his leg. We waited for his GP to call back on what to do next. They sent us immediately to the hospital across the street where they met him in the ER with a wheelchair and he's been there ever since.
What we do know is he has dozens of little clots in his lungs. He has a bigger (maybe multiple?) clot(s) in his leg. He is on coumadin (blood thinner) to get his blood to a "theraputic level" and on shots in his stomach to help with the disolving of the other clots. The pulmonoligist said the small clots in his lungs will most likely dissolve in 2 weeks or so. The one in the leg is the troublesome one and will be closely watched too.
Shane didn't really have the typical things that cause blood clots. Those things being: recent surgery, diabetic, long distance travel via airplane. Because there was no answer why they did genetic testing. It turns out that Shane has Lupus Anti-Coagulant which means his blood coagulates in his veins. The symptoms (besides clotting) are: insomnia, sleep apnea, hair loss, digestive upset and more. All of those are Shane to a T. And yet, it was never caught until now.
So he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. We are so lucky that it was caught early and that no clots made it to his heart which is fatal. This condition is hereditary so i have a call into our ped to find out what we do to check or monitor the kids.
So Shane will be released when his blood reaches the theraputic level, he will continue the shots until his lungs are clear. He will have CT scans of his lungs also until those clots clear. He will also have ultrasounds of his leg to monitor that progress and he will get blood draws every 2 to 3 days to monitor the level of his blood. It is a lot to take in but we are managing. I have a lot of help. My mom has watched the kids daily since Wednesday so I can visit Shane. She's cooked for us and been a shoulder too. I don't know what I would have done without her support.
Shane's dad and his wife have been up to see Shane a lot. They have offered their help as well. Shane's brother and wife have been up to visit and offer help. Some of the group that Shane works out with in the gym came to see him. Our dear friend Doug came to see him, Doug's wife Cindy checks on him as well. I know a lot of people are praying and pulling for Shane and it means a lot. I can't mention every person because there are just too many to list. Just know your thoughts and your prayers mean the world to both of us.
I'll keep you updated as I can. With 4 kids (3 of which are sick) and going back and forth to the hospital 2 times a day (most days) it's a little crazy around here.
Love,
Susan
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