Going my way...maybe? finally?

This past Wednesday I met with the hematology doctor to discuss my blood clots. Bottom line she said both clot incidents have been "provoked"...meaning I had good reason to develop them (c-section/pregnancy and traumatic injury). I have a return appointment in 6 months and plan to get tested in order to see if I have a condition that makes me develop them easier than the average Joe. I can't have all the tests done now because I'm taking blood thinners so I'm just going to wait and have everything done at once. Whether or not I have a clotting disorder does not affect my ability to have surgery now.

Although my clots are still there I'm no longer at risk for having them dislodge. She said after someone is on Coumadin for 4-6 weeks the vein wall starts to grow over the clot. It's been almost 8 weeks for me. So while it won't dislodge it's still causing some circulation problems. Every once in a while my left leg will still look more swollen than the right and occasionally it's a different color from my knee down (red or sometimes a little purplish). To help with that I have an appointment next week to get fitted for a compression sock. Hot stuff! And I've given up trying to conform and wear dress shoes at work...either I'm working in my running shoes or I'm not working. Rebel with a cause!

With regards to surgery... she wants me to finish out one more month of the Coumadin and then I am good to go! YEAH! As of my hematology appointment this past Wednesday my next scheduled appointment with the surgeon (just to check in) was not scheduled until June 25th! When she gave me the thumbs up for surgery in a month I went straight home and placed a call to the surgeon. My next appointment with the surgeon is now April 7th! Two months earlier! Hopefully we set a surgery date during that meeting.

On Thursday my physical therapist said she was happy with my leg extension for surgery. It is very close to being equal with my right leg and that's apparently one of the most important PT factors heading into surgery. If both knees can't straighten equally at the time of surgery then one ACL ends up being longer than the other. I'm still working on the flexion. I'm now able to bend it to 120 degrees during my wall slides. Not great, but not bad.

All in all it's been a good week and I feel like it's finally starting to work out. Hope it lasts!