DVT - Deep Vein Thrombosis

 "To every thing there is a season, and a time

 to every purpose under the heaven"

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

On March 24th, 2004, I was working underneath the computer desk, rearranging printer cords after moving our printer from one side of the monitor over to the other side.  Mickey had been standing on the corner of the desk, and I was printing out something when I noticed he was 'wagging' his tail, and it was going right into the area where the printer's cartridges are located.  Good golly, we couldn't have THAT happening!  LOL

As I turned to pull myself up from the floor, I twisted my knee and felt a "rope burn" sensation.  It didn't hurt all that bad, so I went about my daily chores and didn't give it another thought.  However, during the next couple of weeks, my knee began hurting and I finally went to the doctor.

On April 13th I was told I had torn a tendon and that I needed to be on crutches.  No major problem, and my leg would heal in a matter of weeks.  The very next evening, however, my leg suddenly swelled 3 times bigger than my other one, and the following morning I called the doctor's office to let them know.  I was told that I needed to see an Orthopedic Surgeon, and the first visit was set up for the following week.

He ordered an MRI on my knee, and we discovered that I didn't have a torn tendon, but rather I had torn the Soleus muscle in my calf.  I was told to keep my leg elevated so the fluid would go away.  By then I have to say my entire leg was looking quite ugly; swollen, red, and cold to the touch.  By May 6th there was still no improvement, and I was getting very frustrated.  The pain was close to unbearable, and I could barely stand and get from one place to the next without my foot turning purple.  I knew something else was wrong.

I went back to see the Orthopedic doctor and asked him, "why hasn't somebody checked for a blood clot?"  He finally looked at my leg and realized that maybe something else could be wrong.  He sent me to the emergency room at the hospital for a Doppler Ultrasound, "just to rule out a blood clot". Well, lo and behold, after the test was performed, the ER doctor came into the room and said, "You're not going anywhere, young lady, because you have a blood clot!"

I wish that I could say it was a simple matter of going on blood thinners until the clot dissolved. I'm 52 years old and I had been on Premarin since I was 29, due to a hysterectomy, and this "little blood clot" turned out to be DVT (Deep Venous Thrombosis).  I was immediately taken off the Premarin, and I was told this thing had been "building up" for quite some time.  It isn't just a clot; the entire vein in my thigh is completely blocked.

As far as I'm concerned, Mickey and I are "even steven" on saving each other's life.  I rescued him from a bush, and he rescued me that day he wagged his tail. The injury to my calf muscle is what led up to the doctors finding the DVT, and if that hadn't happened, I hate to think of how it might have been discovered.

I have no idea what God has planned with all of this, but I do know that He wants me to share my story with anyone who takes the time to read it.  First of all, I've been told "this doesn't happen to someone as young as you are". Well, it already happened to me, and it can happen to you, too.  I've discovered 'first hand' there's no point in believing that we have complete control with our lives, because it can and does change when we least expect it.

If you would like to learn more about "DVT", please click here:  DVT At A Glance.  We sincerely hope that you won't be one of those people, like I was, and simply shrug your shoulders and say, "this will never happen to ME!"

Thank you for your time in reading this message.  May God Bless each and every one of you.

Bj