.......and the medical adventures continue

E.R. @ St. Luke North

It was 2 days after an out patient surgery Dan had to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder.


 ( It was a tear that had happened nearly ten years ago in a snowboarding accident. It had gotten a bit worse over the years with some scar tissue and bone rubbing on bone. It was to be a few days at bed rest, a few days with taking it easy. We were expecting a few weeks of Physical therapy and a month of a sling.)


Dan was complaining of pain in his calf, He had taken a PT test the day before the surgery and was concerned he might have pulled it. Then he started complaining that the cross strap on the sling was too tight across his chest because he was having pains in his chest. The pains were strong , more painful than the surgery sight and the pain meds didn't seem to help them very much.

We called into his doctor and asked about the pains. They recommended that we go to the ER and get checked out. The doctor ordered first  a CAT scan of his lungs and then  an ultra sound of his leg. Before the Ultra sound was done the CAT scan test came back positive for a multitude of blood clots in his lungs. It apparently started in his calf and spread up.

The doctors told us multiple times how fortunate it was that we had gotten there in time. We were told plenty that his health and healthy life choices (Specifically not smoking and drinking) were factors in him being able to combat this.

Dan was admitted and put on a Heparin drip. They kept him for three days, and released him to bed rest only and blood thinners. He still has more testing to do in order to see how long he will have to be on blood thinners. He is home now and doing well. Going back to work this week. He will still have a sling, and physical therapy, and a few extra dr appointments to monitor the blood thinners.

We are very grateful that everything has worked out so well and feel very blessed.