Well, to begin with, I've never thought of myself as indestructible,
however, I didn't think I would ever be brought to my knees like the
pain I experienced with Deep Vein Thrombosis.
It all started
on the afternoon of April 6, 2013, at around 1 PM. I had been at an
auction all morning and bought an old lawn mower and my neighbor, who
was there, had offered to bring it home on his flatbed. With some help
from another neighbor, we got it hooked up and set it down on the
ground. I had gotten up and down off the tractor 2 or 3 times during the
process. Here's where the fun starts.
When I got down the
last time, I felt a little cramp in the calf of my right leg. I didn't
think much about it. I'd walk it out. Gave a wave bye to my neighbor as
he drove out the drive and started walking towards my dogs to let them
off the leash. The pain is starting to gradually get worse, radiating
down in my ankle and to the outside of my right foot. It was about 30
feet to the front door and I like to not made it.
My whole
right leg felt like it was in a vise. You can't pinpoint the pain
origin. You can't rub out the pain or maybe hit a muscle to massage it
out. It's just there. And it don't go away, as you will soon notice. I
had broken out in a sweat, and I knew then I was in serious trouble. Oh,
by the way, I'm a retired Paramedic with 35 years street experience,
and when this stuff hits home, you never really get a grasp of what's
going on, because for one thing, denial, is your first reality and two,
your first reality is quite a shock.
My sweet wife had
taken her parents to lunch and should be about on the way home, so I
call her and tell her that my leg is killing me and for her to get home
as soon as she could. They was close because, fortunately in about 3
minutes they were there. I didn't tell her over the phone that I wasn't
under a car or in a trauma situation, so my fault if she looked around
the place before coming in the house.
When she saw me, she
saw my pain, and my anxiety to get this over. I changed out of my pants
and into pajama bottoms so my leg would be easy access for observation.
What a shock when I pulled my pants off, the inside of my knee was
cyanotic and purple. I had no feeling in my tib/fib next to my knee and
tingling in my foot, which had turned a little ashen colored. The
decision was made to call an ambulance and take me to the ED at
Williamson Medical Ctr.
I'll stop here and we'll call this Part I. Stay tuned for Part II.
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