DVT and flying!!

At some point or other, I'm sure quite a few of us have stared blankly at the 'what to do in an emergency' and  how to twiddle your feet and bend your knees security video that is shown on your flight just before take off.
For kids, it always arouses another 100 questions that always go something along the lines of....
What do you mean, no air? We'll die if there's no air! with panic written all over their face.
Only when the plane lands on the water can we slide down the slides?
Where's the life jacket can I see it?
What about our suitcases and all my things?
When all you want  after trekking through customs and sitting in an aeroport is a bit of peace and quiet.

I know you should walk around inflight and I know its better if you wear your compression stockings. I know all that stuff but like so many other things , I never do it!!
The compression stocking do nothing for me confort wise. Feeling like I'm stuffed in sausage casings is not my idea of fun. Add that on to flying 12 hours with 2 girls in tow, is definately not my idea of fun. Luckily it's soon forgotton once we touch down and the holiday begins.
Only to rear its ugly head 3 weeks later. Somehow things seem even worse on the flight back!!

While on the flight back from Paris to Hong Kong, I felt an aching , dull pain in the back of my left calf. I rubbed it and tried to forget about it.
We got off the plane and I could hardly walk, I kid you not!!
And because I hadn't run a marathon the day before, I knew something was not right.
Alex said straight away the mabe its a clot, but as he's always so dramatic is his diagnosis, I brushed it off but it kept creeping back into my head!

I could hardly walk and spent the next day limping hopelessly, trying to get the shopping done, the washing on and seeing to my 2 jet lagged girls. Monday night hubby got home and said something along the lines of ' you have your 2 girls to think of, you should have gone to the dr'.

That hit me and I felt sick. 'What if?' kept racing through my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it and how 'it' just didn't feel right. So at 9 pm I took the taxi to the hospital to see if they could find anything, something and mabe just put my mind to rest! It sounds stupid but I didn't want to go to sleep without knowing what was wrong.

While waiting to see the dr, an airhostess or flight attendant  came in with a sore ear, a man who really didn't look good was just waiting with his wife - I steered clear of him and me, the limper!!
I felt nervous, sick and just wanted to get it all over with!
Finally dr sees me and I explain how we just got back from a France and how the cramp started in the plane. He feels my leg and can see by squeezing that I'm in pain, but for him, its not hard and not swollen so no need for concern tonight. He assures me that I can go and see a dr in the morning and that way, I won't have to pay the 1900HKD call out fee.
Like I said before  I wasn't going to sleep without knowing so I told him that I didn't mind and that I want to do the doppler. Me thinking, I'm here now, get it done that way tomorrow I don't have to drag the girls around with me and hopefully we'll get some answers tonight.
So 30 minutes later, radiologist is there and starts checking out my veins!!
Don't you just hate it when they sit there and pull their faces while looking at the screen, then press some more. They have you wondering, 'what the hell is wrong with me, am I dying?' So about 30 minutes later he gets to the sore spot and voila....DVT.

And not just in one but  2 different places. I'm holding it together. I feel even more sick. I need to phone Alex and don't have my phone because the one time he forgets his phone at work, I need to go to  hospital.
 Again a reminder that I must phone the landlord to fix the phone line. So I left him my phone, I guess deep down I knew I'd be staying, hell I even put my PJ's in my handbag before I left home.
The Dr see's me again and explains that its worse than he thought.  He tells me to stop taking my Yasmin and that I'll have to stay in hospital tonight and proberly the rest of the week. I need to have a heparin injection daily along with oral anticoagulant meds and because of these meds, they need to keep a close eye on me and my bloodwork.

Ok, that all taken in, I have to phone Alex and let him know. I don't want him to panic but how not to panic when you here this kind of news. I ask at the reception if the have a phone that I can use? They did and you don't even have to pay. This is Hong Kong for you, just another 'small' geste that makes being in hospital or not, just a a little bit easier.
I tell him and reassure him all ok but that I'll be admitted for about 5 days! I want to cry, but I know that will freak him out and just make him worry even more. I keep it short.
What?? 5 days!! I knew that would stress him. What about the girls ,what about work?Then he said, its Ok, family comes first!!

I fill in the forms to be admitted. It feels strange being alone because normally I come rushing to this hospital with Mathilde pucking all over and asking for puke bags, but not this time.

Got to still laugh at the first class room booking even in the state I'm in!!
Its now 1am and a nice lady sees me to my room. While in the lift she asks me if my family will be coming? I think what at 1am? I smile and say no and blink back the tears and swallow the lump in my throat.
So up in my room, meds, injection and blood all done and dusted within 15 minutes.

And then I'm alone and so not tired and I'm thinking even if I was, I don't want to sleep as I've heard so many stories about blood clots going to the lungs or brain then .....
I know I'm in for a long, very long week and this is just the beginning.

So hubby is now off work and taking care of the girls. He brings them in first thing to visit me. They are worried, well Olivia is. Mathilde just keeps asking when I'll be comming home. Then its time for them to go home for lunch, but Mathilde won't have it. She's screaming and crying that she wants her mama. I could even hear her wails as they were waiting for the lift, it really broke my heart and make me feel even crappier!!

So after the week of heparin injections daily and oral meds, I ask the dr if I can leave? He tells me that my blood levels are not where he wants them to be so he wants me to stay a few more days!! What the hell??
I tell him that I really need to get home to take care of my girls and that I can come back daily for my blood tests. Ok, yippee, I'm so happy but still panicky as somehow being in hospital and knowing that everything was there if something went wrong was quite reassuring.

But I don't want to stay here another night. So I pack my bags, pay my bill , collect my anticouagulant meds and hop in a taxi. It feels so good to be 'free' even if we are surrounded by skyscrapers.
And I'm starving! I can't wait to have some decent food. Even though, I must say, the food wasn't that bad. A dietician came to see me and planned my meals around food that I like and don't like. They really made an effort and the presentaion was beautiful for the desserts, Mathilde loved them. But it still remained 'hospital food'.

Well its been almost a month with so many backwards and forwards to the hospital. Olivia was sick inbetween with brochiolitis, so I just let her see one of the Drs while I went for my blood test. Call it killing two birds (poor things) with one stone. But after all the time we've spent here over the last month, they are at ease here and know the place like the back of their little hands and especially how to get to the vending machine.
They know the drill, get in take a surgical mask and KEEP IT ON!!! Olivia keeps it on, but little Mathilde, well lets just say, she has a mind of her own. She pushes it up onto her head and uses it as a hair band making many a sick patient laugh!!

There has been tons of inappropriate staring and even more inappropriate and loud questions ' blush'.
But they are kids and as we all know, kids ask one hell of a lot of questions especially in those times when we wish they wouldn't!!

So last scan was yesterday and all is clear, I'm so relieved.

Just one word of advice.

Get up, walk around, wear those 'sexy' stockings that make you feel like a sausage and twiddle those ankles on your next flight!