#30 - Mar. 7th, 2024
I thought I’d try and update as I’ve been trying to help Dave navigate a lot of this stuff and since he is not supposed to be talking a lot, I’ve sorta been the interpreter between both parties.
we had a new doctor this morning come in and tell us we were going to have a procedure which scared the crap out of both of us. So I called his ENT, surgeon and oncologist. We spoke with Interventional Radiology who explained the procedure. I spoke with a friend who’s been guiding us through and got some additional thoughts. His oncologist, came over to speak with us. I think our initial reaction to the new doctor and the procedure may have been influencing the plan of care which essentially was let’s try the blood thinner again, monitor for a day and possibly send you home. At that point I got a bit heated and said so we are going to continue to be a ticking time bomb between throwing a potentially fatal clot or bleeding out. He can’t keep going through this and neither can I.
Within an hour Dave was downstairs having what is called an IVF (Inferior Vena Cava Filter) which is essentially a little spider looking deal that is meant to catch any large clots before they get to his heart and subsequently his lungs. Most clots form in the legs and the Vena Cava then brings the blood that needs oxygen to the heart which pumps it to the lungs. Because cancer causes issues with blood coagulation, he had major surgery, and he has some circulation issues in his legs he needs a blood thinner, but the surgical site needs more time to heal. This is literally our safety net to allow for some additional healing before having to go back on blood thinners. The filter was placed with a catheter and can easily be removed the same way. Right now he is hurting because he had to lay flat during the procedure which took maybe 45 minutes. We are hoping to get the pain under control by trying some of the medications that have worked previously. His vitals are stable and Im hoping maybe we are on the right track.
Megan