It was a regular doctor’s visit scheduled a month earlier to check on INR blood levels because I am on Coumadin, a blood thinner, to prevent clot formation. These reflect relative thin-ness of my blood, ideally in the 2.5 to 3.5 range, the higher the number, the thinner my blood. Levels below 2.5 indicate thicker blood, and associated risk of clots forming; higher than 3.5 and the risk of internal bleeding increases. The blood literally oozes out of the capillaries under the skin forming the appearance of a bruise, or deeper internally where bleeding is harder to detect.
The finger prick yielded a print-out seconds later on the digital blood analyzer of 8.0. I’ve heard of higher INR readings, but not often. After the “how are you?s”, the doctor asked me if I was aware that my nose was bleeding. Other than a tiny sniffle, I was not. What I had first on my question list was my black, swollen tongue first noted two days earlier. I brought this to my dentist’s attention, fearing a metastatic appearance of a new cancer tumor. My dentist put my fears to rest, but was more concerned about the fact that I had no idea how the bruise had come about: no accidental bite or blow to my face.
Putting this evidence together with a urinalysis that proved to be almost pure blood left only one course of action: immediate hospitalization. Half an hour later I was lying in an Intensive Care Unit bed being hooked up to an IV of Fresh Frozen Plasma plus two shots of Vitamin K. (The tongue was black from bleeding inside.)
The next morning I went home with the doctor’s words echoing in my mind: “You were only hours from departing this life entirely”. I always thought dying was preceded by accumulating pain and suffering. The truly scary part of this experience is that I had no symptoms to warn me that I was in peril. Now I have an even keener awareness of what I take in and how it interacts with other medications I need for maintenance of a stable condition. The effects of Coumadin are powerful and far reaching. It needs close, careful attention.
Once again I am happy to be able to sign off for both Michael and me. Bless you for standing by us so faithfully.
Copyright 2008
www.lindalater.blogspot.com
Posted March 13, 2008
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