Dear husband spent the last 9 days in the hospital and it started with chest pains. Last Wednesday night he complained that his shoulder and chest were in a lot of pain and didn't know why. He went to the local urgent care for some tests, not knowing they would later send him to the emergency room. The urgent care ran test for a possible heart attack and that came back clear and fine. They stated he could have possible blood clots and he would have to go to the emergency room, at Banner Gateway.
He arrived at the emergency room around 9pm. They started with all the tests and examines. At midnight, the test came back that yes he would have Parallel Pulmonary Embolism. That means lots of small blood clots in and around his lungs. A pulmonary embolism can cause symptoms similar to those of heart conditions, that is why he was having the chest pains.
Once he was moved out of the emergency room up to the ICU unit, the pain continued to be unbearable. He was on a lot of pain medications and was out of it, to say the least. It was painful for me to watch him wince at every movement. We later found out the he was not ICU status, but the hospital didn't have any rooms available.
The hospital continued to run different tests and checked his blood levels. They concluded he was blood clot free in his legs, which is great!! There is no real answer to why or how he got the blood clots. He does travel by planes frequently for business, he does travel on vacations for long distances and up in elevation and as we found out there are several cases within the family of blood clots. So, any one of these factors could have played a role in getting blood clots.
Once the pain was under control, the doctors focused on getting his blood levels up. It took between 4 and 5 days and high doses of blood thinners, to get his blood up the level they were looking for. He was released on Friday, with a list of medications and doctor appointments to attend.
He will be fine, he is tired!! There will be lifestyle changes, which included diet and exercise, being more active on the aircraft and stopping more on long trips!!
I would like to thank everyone for there thoughts and prayers!! Especially the grandparents who took both girls, as I sat at the hospital for hours on end. A special thanks to my sister-in-law who drove out from southern
California to help out with the girls. The past week was very scary and would not want to do that again. We will be taking measures to secure our future!!!
