Update on my Recovery

Thank you all again for your continued prayers, thoughts, and well-wishes. Whenever I talk to my mom, she says "so-and-so" has been asking how you're doing, and so-and-so said they were thinking about you. THANK YOU. It means everything to me.

A little update on how I am doing/feeling. For the most part, I am feeling really good. I don't have any shortness of breath at rest, or even when walking. However, ever since I got out of the hospital, where my sleep was interrupted every hour, I have a hard time falling asleep at night. So, up until last night, my bed time ranges from 2-3 AM. This is all fine and dandy until I have to wake up at 7 or 8 AM. Then the exhaustion hits. However, last night, I did manage to fall asleep at a normal hour, and hope that this becomes a pattern.

The rough part for me is the anxiety. The doctors forgot to tell me the symptoms of my clots breaking up, which could be: shortness of breath, chest pain, and fatigue. Last Monday, I was having some chest pain, and worried about it all morning. I finally called my doctor, and they brought me in for a PulseOx check and BP check. All of my vitals were strong, and the doctor on call said it is most likely from the clots breaking up.

I have not simply been sitting on my rear these past few weeks. I find I have less anxiety when I am constantly moving and keeping myself occupied. Less time for my mind to come up with crazy ideas. Which, if you have met my son, you know that he pretty much keeps me doing both of those things. Kid is a mover and a shaker, and is turning two on April 1st.

I started a new lifting program last week, with my good friend Jen. It's called "The New Rules of Lifting for Women," and it's based on a book. So far it has been challenging, but nothing crazy, and I'm sure it is helping me get stronger in the off time. When I'm not running I seem to have all this free time, and have been enjoying spending it with Jen, as she is moving out of state very soon.

I also had a follow-up with my PCP, and she said all is well, however, they will not be able to check for clotting disorders until I am off my medication for 2-3 weeks. If they ran blood-work now, it would provide inaccurate results due to the blood thinners.

Along that same line, I had a follow-up today with Dr. Ehteshaam, my pulmonologist. He is a very well-known and in high-demand doctor, and knows what he is doing. They checked my oxygen levels at rest and while walking fast. My levels are really strong, and my BP is low as usual. The doctors have told me many times, if they didn't know I was a long distance runner, they would be concerned with my very slow heart rate (bradycardia). I am usually in the low 50s for resting heart rate. I bragged about this to my husband, who told me the Lance Armstrong is somewhere between 32-34 BPM and Meb Keflezighi is around the same, so I stopped being impressed with myself.

The big news I took away from my pulmonology follow-up, is that I am cleared to run. He said "take it slow and gradually build up again. Don't go running 10 miles on the first day." So, as it stands right now. I will not be running the Martian full marathon on the 13th. I cannot build my mileage up again that fast, and frankly, I don't want to. I may try and switch to the half, or I may not run at all. I just don't know yet.

I did my first run this afternoon, on the treadmill. Dr. Ehteshaam suggested I start there and then try outside. I originally thought I would do just two miles, however, I felt so good after two, I decided to make it a 5K. I did a 5K in 28:07. Not too shabby for three weeks off. I started out very slow, and by the end I had worked myself up to 7.0 mph, and felt very comfortable with that pace. I even cranked it up to 7.5 mph for the last 0.1 miles. I know the clots must be smaller or gone, because I was able to breathe easily on my run (not 100% easy), but nothing like it was. Before I was gasping for air after a quarter mile, and my heart rate was sky-high after that distance too. My heart stayed very steady today, and within a minute of stopping my run, my breathing returned to normal. This is something that did not happen when I was experiencing symptoms.

I'd had a lot of anxiety about returning to running. After almost 3 weeks off, I thought I wouldn't be able to even come close to my average pace. I also thought I might not want to run again after being off for so long. However, a half a mile into my run today, I remembered how much I love running, and I can't wait to start training again!

My Weekend in the hospital

Thought I would update everyone, and try to answer some of the questions I have been getting via text and inbox.

Last Saturday, I was running outside and felt like I was having to "push" more than usual to get to a pace that should've been easy. It was windy and cold that day, so I didn't think much of it. Sunday, I ran again, and I struggled there as well. Thinking that the cold and wind was getting to me, I brought my run inside to the treadmill on Monday. Once again, barely made it through 6 miles. Then I decided I needed rest. I took Tuesday off, and rested. I tried again to run outside on Wednesday morning. I couldn't even make it down the block. I was so winded and an 11 minute mile felt like sprinting. I knew something was wrong. I was only having shortness of breath while running. No other symptoms at all.

I took Thursday off again, just to see if it was a fluke, and tried again on Friday. The result was the same. Extraneous effort with a lot of shortness of breath. I came home and immediately called my doctor. The first time I called, the receptionist said to call back on Monday. I wasn't really satisfied with that answer, so I called again, and a different receptionist answered, and after hearing my symptoms, told me they would see me in an hour.

I went and saw my PCP at 2 PM on Friday afternoon. She immediately thought asthma, however after checking my oxygen levels, and listening to my lungs, she immediately ruled it out. I had some blood drawn, and a chest x-ray, and went along my merry way. With strict instructions not to run until they had a conclusive answer. (Drat, she read my mind.)

Saturday around lunch, I took the dogs for a walk. I was almost home, when my phone rang. It was my PCP. She said my DDimer levels were 800, and that I needed to get to the ER right away to rule out clots. After panicking slightly, I called my mother-in-law and she said my SIL, Melody would be over to watch Jacob, so that Jon could take me to the ER.

Half an hour later, we were on the way to the hospital. I was definitely feeling upset, and anxious, but part of me was pretty sure I didn't have a clot. The ER wasn't crowded at all and I was back in a room within half an hour. Once they heard what my levels were and heard I had shortness of breath, they quickly sent me for an iodine CT scan. This scan sends iodine through your circulatory system, to see where the clots are.

Less than an hour later, the ER doctor popped his head in and said "oh hey, you have blood clots in your lungs. Wish I had better news." Understatement of the year....I was hoping he would tell me I'd won a new car. Clots, are sort of a bummer. I was diagnosed with a Bilateral Pulmonary Embolism. A clot in each of my lungs. After that they quickly started me on heparin (a blood thinner), and hooked me up again to the heart montior. An hour after that I got to go upstairs where I spent pretty much all of my time.

The staff at Providence Park was very calm, and very helpful. Which was great for me, as putting on a brave face was getting pretty old. Smiling when I don't feel like it hurts my face.The nurses weren't sure how long I would have to stay, so they told me at least a few days. I was bored already, after 12 hours. I didn't sleep at all Saturday night. It was too bright, and the nurses and CPTs were checking on me all the time. I was not allowed anything for sleep or pain because of the blood thinners. Oddly enough, my hips started hurting from just laying around. I am so not used to being immobile. The nurse was nice enough to give me a hot pad which burnt my skin off made me feel better.

Sunday and Monday were spent getting blood drawn every few hours, while they tried to get my blood to therapeutic levels of heparin and coumadin. I also had a leg ultrasound to check for leg clots. Fortunately, they did not find any. My clots originated in my lungs, not in the legs. I had a heart ultrasound as well. The doctors all kept saying how strong and slow my heart rate is. Which I wholeheartedly attest to long distance running. Monday, the first nurse in the morning said I couldn't go home. However, after they checked with my doctors, they agreed to send me home if my cardiac ultrasound was unremarkable. Which it was. I got to go home Monday night, and sleep in my own bed. I am however, on a powerful blood thinner, and will be monitored by my doctor very closely.

Lots of people have asked, what caused your clots? I have no definitive answer for that right now. It could be the medication I was on previously, or I have a clotting disorder. The doctors are leaning towards my medication, (I am now off of that med, obviously). However, I will be seeing a hematologist within the next week, and if there is a clotting disorder, the blood work should tell me.

What does this mean for my running? Well, I had planned to run a sub-4 marathon at the Martian Marathon on April 13th. I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that it is probably not happening. As of right now, I am not allowed to run. I am waiting on clearance from all of my doctors. As you may understand, I am incredibly sad, because I have put a lot of time into training for this race. It sounds so silly, but running means a lot to me. And I have worked so hard to get where I am, it's tough to watch it fall through your fingers. However, I am so grateful that if all is well, I will be able to run in the future. I don't take breathing for granted now, that's for sure.

Please, please, I've had a few people tell me "this could've ended very badly." Yes, I know that it could have. I know that this was very dangerous, but reminding me of this only makes me very anxious. As you can understand, I have quite a bit of fear now. Falling on blood thinners can be dangerous, car accidents are dangerous, being pregnant is dangerous. I know all of these things. I can only pray that God will help me deal with the anxiety and that I will learn to trust Him more.

I just want to reiterate, any crazy symptom, like chest pain or shortness of breath. GO TO THE DOCTOR! Don't wait! This is your health.

Thank you all for the calls, prayers, texts, well wishes, and positive thoughts. They really meant so much, and I am grateful for my wonderful friends. Thank you to my mom, for flying out here on such short notice and watching Jake. To my MIL, FIL, and SIL, Mary, Mark and Melody. Thank you for stepping in and helping out so much Saturday and Sunday. And to my friends, Emily, Jen, Amanda, Janssen, Matt, and Danko for stopping by to visit. I loved seeing all of you! Thank you again!