Another Bump

On Kevin’s first morning at Santa Clara Valley, he received routine ultrasounds on his legs to check for blood clots. This is a procedure they do to every incoming patient—and for good reason. They found a partial clot in each of Kevin’s legs. These clots were caused by Kevin’s immobility over the past several weeks. Partial clots are nearly impossible to know about without an ultrasound because they produce no outward signs on the skin. Partial clots can also move to different parts of the body like the lungs or heart. The standard procedure for this problem is an interventional radiology procedure that places temporary filters in Kevin’s veins to prevent the clots from moving anywhere more dangerous.

A small piece of family history: Dad spent a few years at Santa Clara Valley during his radiology training in the early 1980s. One of the interventional radiologists that Dad trained under is still here. As soon as Dad found out the results of the ultrasound, he went down to the radiology department, talked with this doctor and made sure Kevin would get the procedure done that afternoon. Plus, it was wonderful to have a doctor do this who Dad trusts. The procedure went well, and Kevin spent the afternoon and evening sleeping it off. He will start therapy on Saturday.

To cast this in the most positive light, the move down to Santa Clara might have saved Kevin’s life. If Kevin had stayed at Stanford, we might not have noticed the clots, because they don’t do routine ultrasounds of patients’ legs. With Kevin’s increasing movement in the physical therapy sessions at Stanford, the clots might have moved to his lungs, heart or brain, which would have caused major problems. So it’s wonderful that they found the clots and took care of them. Still, we’re extremely frustrated that—again—Kevin had to go through yet one more medical problem as soon as he progressed a tiny bit.