August 1, 2009

We've had a bunch of visitors come by the last two days- Andy's parents, sister, friends. I really appreciate the help & concern. Andy is doing well. His leg feels better, and he has figured out a schedule for his meds. Yesterday, he had his blood taken and tested to determine the INR (International Normalized Ratio). We need to get his INR between 2-3 (thin blood) with the hopes of breaking up the clot in his leg. This process will take some time. He began at a 1 (normal blood thickness) and is now at 1.2.

Sam has been enjoying time with all of our visitors. He has been very active outside- yesterday, hanging with the boys by the pool. Today, I am picking up some crapemyrtles (found $8 on Craigslist!) to plant in the backyard.

While driving home around noon after picking up the trees, Andy mentioned that the pain in his leg was feeling significantly better. He was flexing his leg and moving his foot around without much pain. But, shortly after he said this, he began feeling an intense pain in his head behind his left eye. He described it as a sudden, horrible headache. We discussed going immediately to the hospital, but decided to go home and make a call to a doctor. Andy contacted a nurse at Sutter, and she told him to go immediately to the ER. We were concerned that the blood clot may have moved. The ER doctor had a long talk with us about possible causes of the sudden headache (Andy was told yesterday to increase his dose of Coumadin) and calmed our fears that the blood clot could have moved to his brain (this is highly unlikely, as it would have to pass through both the lungs & the heart first). So, we're back to positive thoughts that the blood thinners are doing their job, and the Lovenox shots are keeping the clot in one spot. Andy is feeling much better now, and I am very relieved after our brief visit to the hospital.