I May Have Met Every Doctor in Nashville by Now

Not really...but it's starting to feel like it. My latest scare happened last Thursday as I was getting ready for guests coming in that night.

While my concerns were completely legitimate and taken seriously by every doctor I spoke to, there's a possibility the entire scare was triggered by my own vanity. I can't be sure, but I'm willing to admit it's a possibility. :-) You see, I've noticed this vein on the inside of my right calf continuing to grow darker throughout my pregnancy. Tuesday as I was in the closet fighting with my pants that I am certain have shrunk in the dryer, my hand brushed up against my leg and I felt something. Something bulging from my leg. And when I looked, I saw something bulging. Bulging and ugly.

I immediately started investigating my leg while repeating, "Oh, no. Oh, no." over and over. (Like I said--vanity.) I was so upset over what appeared to be a varicose vein. I was thinking, "This will never go away. I'm going to have to have this fixed after I have the baby. How will I convince Rodney we should spend the money to repair something that's not really hurting me? What's the last big thing he blew money on that I could use for leverage?" Yes, these are the sad little desperate thoughts that run through my head.

After hours of thinking way too much about it, it dawned on me that varicose veins are often either hereditary or caused by being overweight...neither of these applied to me. Then I started thinking about how my right calf has been throbbing for the past 3 or 4 months, something I was contributing to my sciatica. Then I remembered blood clots can cause pains in your leg. So I began investigating. I headed straight to my trusty What to Expect When You're Expecting book and flipped to the index. I finally came across the page on Venous Thrombosis (blood clots).

I was quickly scanning for symptoms. Usually in the leg--check. Pains in leg--check. Family history of blood clots--check. People more prone to it, pregnant women and anemics--check and check.

Then I started scanning potential hazards. Untreated clots can travel to other parts of the body--okay. This can result in a pulmonary embolism--gulp. Sometimes even death--aaahhhhh!

I closed the book desperately wanting to put it in the freezer (a throw back for some of you Friends lovers), but settled for a bathroom drawer. I crawled into bed and let my imagination take me to some very scary places. I should have been in prayer...

The next day I called my OB. I was told to see my primary care physician immediately. My what? I only have one doctor, and you're it, lady. Anyway, I called Rodney's PCP and begged to get in. They could only get me in the next morning and with a different doctor. Reluctantly I agreed, but wondered how I could lose two nights' sleep. Thirty minutes later my phone rang, Rodney's doctor changed his mind and wanted to see me immediately. Luckily, Clinton was in school...so I left my office and headed straight to St. Thomas Hospital. After examination, the doctor was hopeful it was a superficial vein, but not confident enough to let me go home. So, he sent me to Baptist Hospital for an ultrasound on my leg.

And ladies and gentlemen, I am now happy to announce that I do, in fact, have a varicose vein. Something I'm certain I never would have been happy about before, but God has a way of teaching us lessons and vanity had me due for a lesson.

There is no clot. My veins are free and clear. And there is nothing to worry about. The ultrasound tech even assured me that my vein was tiny compared to those she normally saw, as far as the diameter of the vein...although it does stretch a good 4 inches down my leg. She felt confident it would go away after the pregnancy.

Whew. But we've still got 9 more weeks of fun ahead of us...

Glowing and possibly a little crazy,