A Year Ago Today

A year ago today is something that no parent would want to go through. A time when your heart feels like it could stop too.
Last summer my daughter was sick on and off. At first it seemed like it was only a sinus infection which was a possibility, but there was a darker side attacking her. Her chest was hurting, and she was coughing hard. Then it got to the point of having a hard time breathing. At one doctor's office/clinic they took x-rays, and said she had pneumonia. Antibiotics were given which seemed to help. Then it started again. Now they said she had pneumonia in her other lung, and it got worse. More antibiotics. One doctor ran blood tests, and her white cells were going crazy. Then she coughed so hard she cracked ribs. Finally it eased up some with the antibiotics so they took their vacation down to Florida. While down there she said she never felt right, always felt like something was wrong. I too, had a bad feeling, woman's/mommy intuition. The morning when they were coming home she happened to stubble against the bucket of sand she was bringing home. She said it felt like her heart stopped, she turned gray, broke out in a sweat. Yes, she knows now she should have gone straight to the hospital there, but her thought was mom will have to come all the way down here just for a cracked rib. So they drove home, a long car ride home. Everything was so unsure.
We went to another doctor, and this is where she wound up.

The hospital for a whole week, and in ICU for three days. What was it you ask? Something that we would never, ever, in our wildest imagination would have thought of.......Blood clots aka pulmonary embolism. So many of them. The doctor said that perhaps the bucket saved her by making us aware of it. They called her the miracle girl. By all rights she should not have made it, but she did. One that I am thankful for every day for the rest of my life.
Now we are more aware of blood clots. There is a facebook page with it, and I am amazed at how many young people there are who have gone through it too. This is a very, very, scary situation. Not something that you would think could happen to young people, but it does. So now, I'm asking you to be aware of these things that I have read and am passing on to you.
Pain along/or with heat or swelling in the calf or thigh that feels like an ache
Breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, fast breathing, and painful breathing
These are just a few of the symptoms that should be check out asap.
Don't let a doctor say oh it's nothing. It is better to have an ultra sound or cat scan done than to have it ignored. A lot of doctors from what I have read have done that as they think a young patient, no surgery was recently done, they can't have this problem. Wrong, it can affect any age!
As I watched my daughter receive shots in her stomach, iv's, blood thinners being given to her that first week, I was amazed at how strong she was during that time. Me?, I felt like the 90 pound weakling!
So, now a whole year of being on the blood thinner Warfarin aka coumadin has come to an end. She will probably still have some tests done in another month or so for her new doctor to make sure she is as healthy as she can be with damaged lungs.
I must make a note though that a very big suspicion for her blood clots were the birth control pills.
This is not something that I would normally write about, but I believe it is something that everyone should be aware of that it can happen, more often than we know, and yes, to our children. I hope my blogging friends will pass this information on, because I would not wish something like this on my worst enemy.
How is my daughter you ask? Here take a look

Isn't she beautiful? I am a happy mom!!!!