AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

This poor guy can't get a break. Jim's had some pain in his calf since he returned home on Sunday evening. We thought he pulled a muscle while getting onto the boat this past weekend. It started out as a slight pain, and has grown increasingly worse.

Yesterday, Jim went to get his light therapy for the neuropathy, and explained the pain in his calf to our friend Ken. Ken did some tests and sent Jim up to Radiology for an ultrasound. (The Physical Therapy Department is also housed in the hospital, which is where he gets the light therapy.) So during the ultrasound they discovered that Jim now has a blood clot in his leg. Right now there isn't any blood moving through the main vein in his right thigh, which is why his calf hurts - there's not a lot of blood getting to it.

As you know, Jim developed a pulmonary embolism (PE) when he was first diagnosed. So we already knew he was prone to Deep Vein Thrombosis. But he's been on blood thinners since they found the PE, so we didn't think another clot was likely. Apparently we were wrong. We are thankful that Ken was able to diagnose Jim, and that we caught the clot before it broke off and made it up to his lungs. Apparently an embolism in the lungs can be excruciatingly painful, like having a heart attack. For whatever reason, Jim's PE wasn't that painful. But having blood clots move around the body is not a good thing - that's what can cause a stroke.

SO, NOW we're going back to the Vince daily so that Jim can have shots and daily blood tests. He's going to be wearing a compression stocking for the drive to Madison. (Pictures of that one to follow - I can't wait!) And he's got to stay off his leg. He's on crutches and he said that the pain is almost unbearable. He slept on the couch last night because he didn't think he'd be able to make it up the stairs.

The injustice of it all is what really gets to me. When is this guy going to get a break? Yeah, yeah, I know, life's not fair, blah blah blah. We're only dealt what we can handle, blah blah blah. We need some serious intervention in the fairness department. We need a miracle. Or a medical miracle. Or a self-generated miracle. Where ever we believe miracles come from - that's where I want one from. I won't be picky about how it arrives or in what format. The injustice really burns my shoes. No 37 year-old should have to say "Whew! Good thing we caught that blood clot in time so that I can get daily shots, after which I'll go on fighting my cancer while I can't feel my feet." The injustice of it drives me to tears.