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Veins Protruding on Mom's Neck & Chest (January)
It’s been a long two days of waiting and worrying, but we finally know what’s causing the swelling in my mom’s neck and face and protrusion of veins. A CT scan this morning shows that Mom (Leslie Lehrman) has a blood clot in her right subclavian vein. We’ve been down this road.
Flash back to February, where both of Mom’s subclavian veins were nearly 100% blocked, so cardiovascular surgeons inserted two stents into her chest. A malignant tumor on the right side of her neck was pressing against the blood clot, making the situation extra dicey.
We felt quite certain there was a blockage somewhere, as my mom’s symptoms were the same, but we didn’t know where. Whatever the problem, we knew there WAS one. To make matters more confusing and frustrating, on Wednesday night, the ER docs at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix sent my mom home and told her to enjoy her trip to Denver and Nebraska, as the EKG and ultrasound looked great. Yeah, given my mom’s history with blood clots in her neck and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, perhaps a CT should have been in order. As I ranted yesterday, get an effing grip.
Mayo Doctors Point Out Where Right Stent is Located
My mom was feeling a bit better after the ER visit, but still not good. A slightly decreased stress level, perhaps, or one gigantic wish that this truly wasn’t happening…again. She and her husband, Bob, flew to Denver the next day.
My mom was dead set on making it back to Nebraska to see her mom, perhaps for the last time. I know that is what my Mom is thinking. I just know it. She was bound and determined to step foot in good old Fairbury, Nebraska, where my grandma now lives in a nursing home, if it killed her. It damn near did.
My mom and her husband, Bob, didn’t realize Mayo didn’t do a CT scan of her neck at that time (Wednesday). It dawned on them after they rushed to the Swedish Medical Center ER in Denver (Saturday) where the first order of business was a CT scan. This scan resulted in finding the blood clot in my Mom’s neck that doctors are now treating with Lovenox to try to thin it out.
It’s so easy to say, “Why didn’t doctors do this or that” after the fact. But, is it really my Mom’s job to know the difference between a CT scan and an ultrasound when she is in the ER with a doctor she has seen before and who has her entire medical history at his fingertips? Is it my Mom’s job to ask, “Hey, did you use your best judgement and technology to see what’s causing all of this swelling – especially since I just had two stents put in due to a tumor pressing against a blood clot in my neck a few months ago…right here at this very hospital?” After several calls from Denver to her Phoenix Mayo team, is it my Mom’s job to push back after she’s told, “Hey your scans are clear, there is nothing wrong, enjoy the rest of your trip?”
Yep, a pretty woman, my Mom is!
Actually, yes it is my Mom’s job. It’s everyone’s job. We live in a total DIY healthcare system. We’ve been navigating the healthcare system hell for six years now. Advocating for the best possible care for YOU is exhausting, but it is a must.
My Mom isn’t on her way to Nebraska right now, obviously. I’m not sure when she’ll be able to give it another try. All I want right now is for her is to get better and get back home…back home to her couch with a good book in hand. That’s her happy place these days.
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