He was admitted to the hospital around 6:00 a.m. Shortly thereafter he complained that his left leg felt like it was swollen and it was going numb. The idiot doctor ignored his complaints saying that it was just because he was laying on his back. Later he was unable to move his toes and some of the nurses said his leg was cold to the touch, the idiot doctor still insisted that it was because he way laying on his back. We, his family, thought this sounded pretty stupid. My mom told the idiot doctor that laying on his back really didn't seem like a realistic explanation for a numb leg and the inability to wiggle his toes. The idiot doctor replied testily, "What do you think it is?" Like someone with no medical training could diagnose something. Mom suggested a stroke or something. She was dismissed out of hand.
And to be fair it wasn't a stroke . . .
This morning my dad couldn't move his foot. His lower calf and foot were purple, no pulse could be found. Blood clots blocking off circulation. A vascular surgeon was called in and an emergency thrombectomy (removal of blood clots) was performed. Clots and scar tissue was removed from his groin to just below his knee. The surgeon couldn't get into his lower calf and foot without risking my dad's life and (quite literally) limb. When he came to tell us about how my dad did in the surgery, the surgeon kept saying, "I didn't want to risk his life to save his leg."
Right now we're playing a waiting game. The surgeon managed to save my dad's leg for now. We don't know yet whether he'll be able to use that foot. It's quite likely that if he is able to use his foot, there will be partial paralysis and numbness in it. And the real question is not whether his lower (at least) leg will have to be amputated, but when it will have to be amputated.
I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment