5K tomorrow

I'm thinking of something crazy, and you all have about 9 hours to convince me otherwise... Tomorrow morning at 8am is our local 5K. You know what's on my mind... My doctor released me on Thursday (just two days after my surgery) to run as much as I want. Can you believe it? I thought he was crazy, personally. On Thursday I didn't feel like standing much less running! But this morning I could hardly sleep I was so antsy to get out and get my body moving. I ran 3 miles Tuesday morning before my surgery. I figured it was my last hurrah for 2 weeks. And now... I ran around the living room just to see. Just slow little jogs in place and then a little moving. Tuesday and Wednesday I could hardly make it around the block...walking! Okay it was more like scooting. But this morning I walked a mile-and-a-half and would have done more except I ran out of time. I wasn't super fast or anything, it was just a casual stroll. That's exponentially a huge difference in distance, and both took me the same amount of time! Maybe I could do this. And if I couldn't, well someone could just come rescue me, it's just 2 minutes up the road.

Micah is asleep and doesn't know I'm thinking about this. But my body is so wired b/c I'm not getting enough exercise. All my sores have scabbed over as of today, and for me that was a huge thing. I couldn't see running with stuff oozing out of me. I feel a good bit of discomfort and occasionally pain in my upper groin area. He said that could take a month or so to sort itself out and then he may have to go back in to that area. I just have a lot of varicosities, and there is nothing I can do about that. But I will say that I am excited about the possibility of having a normalish looking leg someday. I haven't had a normalish looking leg since I was 22! That is amazing. I told the doc that if my legs didn't look like the ladies in the picture of his brochure then I wanted my money back. He just laughed at me! Oh well. I tried.

The only other race I'm interested in is Skirt Chaser and the Corpus Christi half marathon. Skirt Chaser is too expensive for my blood. And I have just enough time to do a little training for the half marathon. I'd have to walk a good portion of it, but it would be so beautiful! We will be there that weekend anyway, so that is why I am considering it. I'd don't know how I'd shower b/c we aren't actually staying in the city. I'm still thinking on that one.

As Painless as Going to the Dentist

This is nothing compared to what Tammie is going through, but I thought I'd share my experience.
Microphlebectomy
This procedure is performed painlessly under local anesthesia. This is the preferred method for treating very superficial bulging veins of the saphenous system or its tributaries. It is very effective and safe. After the anesthesia is working, small punctures are placed over the vein and the vein is extracted with a tiny hook. No stitches are required. Some bruising may occur, but this usually resolves in a few weeks. Compression stockings area worn for 48 hours, and the patient may return to full activities immediately. When the local anesthesia wears off, most patients experience no pain whatsoever.

VNUS® Closure® is a clinically proven, minimally invasive procedure that treats varicose veins and their underlying cause, venous reflux, with little or no pain. Closure patients can walk away from the vein procedure and be back to everyday activities – either at home or at work – typically within a day. (Yeah, typical activities like walking and sleeping).

They also said it was as painless as going to the dentist. Yeah, right. I'm feeling much better today, just 3 days later. But let me tell you it is painful in case you wanted to know. And what they don't tell you is that they will wrap your leg in 3 aces bandages so wide you could use it as a swing. Your leg will resemble a mummy from toe to hip and it will be as large as the Michelin man. Your foot will become numb from the ace bandage, and you will wonder if the back of your knee is getting circulation. You'll wake up in the morning to find out that your leg is swollen and about to bust out of the bandages. It doesn't remember how to walk and upon removing the 3 blasted ace bandages and showering you'll discover you can't stand up either. Your leg will look like something from a horror movie, and you'll find a pile of bloody pads stacked up in your shower and wonder if anybody has really ever had this done before or were you just an experiment? If they knowingly did, they are crazy. At this point I just cried. Cried that I had this done to myself. What was I thinking? Before, at least all you could see was one thick blue line here and there. But now everything was purple and I had 6 or more punctures in my skin. And I have this lovely tattoo looking thing of what my vein looked liked. "It will fade in a couple of weeks." Yikes. When that is all over you have to hike your knee up to your face and squeeze your leg into a hose the size of a golf ball. Let me tell you, that's easy.

Yeah, I felt pain. I felt the stupid catheter being jabbed into my vein..my very painful varicose vein. I felt him take the catheter out, and I felt the tug when he removed one of the veins. I could also feel the blood oozing out of my veins. I tried not to think about that. I think he's really a mad scientist, you know looks nice and all in the daytime then he gets behind the curtain...

That's all the negative. Now the good stuff. I had no idea that he performed a phlebectomy. No idea. I felt the tug but honestly had no idea what it was. I had a hard time of it, but he told me later a lot of that had to to with my vein system. He said mine was unusually complicated. He said it didn't make the surgery any more complicated for him, it just meant I had a lot more bruising and a lot more entry points than most people. I think his nurse was way more queasy than I was. She freaked me out by biting her nails during the whole thing. That was a trip. All and all I really love my doctor and will use him again and again as he has been doing this for a long time. My leg looks horrible, but it is finally starting to feel great. I know the bruising will go away in a few weeks. We still have to work on the calf area, but I am going to wait a month to heal up and get over this one. See...they have me brainwashed, too. It's just like going to the dentist. Not!

Vein Surgery

Seems I only post when really major things are going on. I'll never catch up with everyone's blogs, so if anything major has happened in your life you're going to have to tell me. I have talked to Tammie, so I at least know what's going on in her neck of the woods. Please continue to pray for her as her throat sounds very raspy, and I know she has got to be tired.

I'm having vein surgery on Friday, September 19, and I would greatly appreciate everyone's prayers for that. It will be 2 hours long and will be followed by 2 other surgeries each 1-1/2 to 2 hours long. They claim I will drive myself home and resume my normal lifestyle after each one. We'll see about that. This surgery is to remove several vericose veins that have bothered me for 12 years. I received them at the beginning of my pregnancy with Elizabeth, and they have steadily worsened with each pregnancy. Because I will be having surgery this week and next I will not be running my 5k here in my hometown. At least I hadn't already paid for it. Bummed? Yes. Very. But excited about getting rid of varicose veins? Very! I could have chosen to wait until after the race, but honestly I cannot run 3 miles without having a lot of pain. I have been able to run 2 without any problems and have steadily been adding to that. So, even though I have to give up the race, it is the race that God has used to get me to this point. And hopefully after all of this is over I will be able to run much, much further without suffering afterwards. And the biggest reason of all is that I just want to get this over with!

I realized I had a problem when I went on a 6 mile walk with my dad. I walk 4 miles every weekend, and I also was running 4 miles every weekend. The weekend before I had run 5. So this really shouldn't have been a big deal. But it was kind of slow and took 2-1/2 hours. The next day I ran my regular 3 miles. My leg hurt all day. It really freaked me out. I went to the doctor that Friday and on the following Monday I met with the vein surgeon he recommended. He is out in Westlake with fancy marble and granite to boot. I've never even been to a wedding as fancy as his office. He showed me pictures and answered my 105 questions. And then I came home to denial, "I don't really need surgery. My veins are fine. So I have to prop them up every day, sleep on pillows at night, and I can't do housework half the time. I'm fine. Really." My dad prayed for me and sometime that night I began researching and digging. Afterwards I had such peace and scheduled the appt the next day.

They will send a catheter up my vein using radio waves and then slowly pull the catheter down and out to close the vein. For my upper thigh they will actually have to put some foam stuff in one of the veins to close it off from another branch. Prayer is that I stay active that day to keep the foam where it needs to be and to be flushed from the places we don't want it. That is Friday's surgery. At some point they will actually remove the vein from the calf. Fun.

This has been a huge praise as my insurance is fully covering the surgery, something most insurance companies do not do. Many consider it to be cosmetic only, even if the patient is experiencing an extreme amount of pain and discomfort. I will be so thankful and prayerful to return to a normal way of life, whatever that is. Honestly, I don't know what normal is for my age because I have had this for so long.

So, please pray that God would guide the surgeon's hands, that all would go well, that I would heal, that I would be calm and occupied during the surgery, and that these veins would not come back (they shouldn't unless we have another baby). I also need prayer for childcare during these surgeries. They are during the school day, so it is hard to find friends that can give that kind of time. He has trained under Dr. DeBakey in Houston and is a very experienced surgeon of over 20 years. And just the fact that my doctor who I trust very much recommended him means a lot to me.