Friday, December 12, 2014

Good News, Bad News

 

Jim saw the hematologist at the Mayo Clinic yesterday, and although it was his opinion Jim should stay on anticoagulants forever, he did say he could go back to his regular exercise, including mountain biking. Guess who was happy to hear that!

House finch getting a little drink at the high-tech water bowl.

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Because the blood clot in Jim’s leg was unprovoked (not due to trauma or surgery), and having a history of varicose veins, the doctor said that with the combination of bad veins and the tendency to clot there was a good chance of recurrence if he doesn’t continue on a blood thinner. That wasn’t exactly what he was hoping to hear, but as the doctor said, the next time a clot goes to Jim’s lungs the outcome may not be as favorable. I think that was enough to convince Jim that the long term anticoagulant was a good thing.

We had another lovely sunrise this morning. Looks like the west coast rain is moving our way.

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As to exercise, he said to do what he felt up to doing at this point, including biking, with the knowledge that a blow to the head could cause a brain bleed. So after we got home Jim joined me for a 5 mile ride on one of the easier trails. He was so happy to be back on the bike, and it’s a risk he’s willing to take.

The hematologist wants to see Jim for a follow-up in April, and didn’t see any reason to keep the appointment with the vascular specialist since there really aren’t any alternatives. In fact he didn’t even do any more blood tests, since the ones he had recently were normal, and he said looking for a genetic factor as a cause for the clots would not change anything, as the only treatment would be anticoagulants anyway. We had already figured that was the case from our research but were hoping for a magic bullet. So we move on and hope the medication works its magic without causing any serious side effects.

Our plan right now is to stay here until mid-January (we have sites reserved until the 15th), then probably head to Quartzite, Yuma, and other parts of southern AZ, hopefully meeting up with the Box Canyon gang again to pick up where we left off in Utah last month, before swinging back to McDowell Mountain in April.

With overflowing bags of dirty laundry, the other day we combined a trip to the laundromat in Mesa with a little hike on the Butcher Jones trail at Saguaro Lake. We had never been there before and were pleasantly surprised at what a pretty area that is.

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Saguaro Lake is the lowest of a series of four reservoirs formed by dams that supply power and water to Phoenix on the Salt River as it crosses the Superstition Mountains. Even though it is man-made, it was a nice change of scenery to hike alongside a lake.

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See you out on the trails…

18 comments:

  1. I am so glad to hear that Jim is back on his bike! Love the photos..........that is an awesome sunset!!!! The lakes are really pretty, I have flown over them many times when going from Albuquerque to Phoenix to my annual quilt retreat. I would love to camp near them and do some hiking someday.

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  2. Glad to here you got the information you need to make decisions for the future. Living every day fully while paying attention to body clues seems prudent. Keep On Keeping On. :)

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  3. Tell Jim to stay out of those silly cleats when he mountain bikes, and to migrate to roads and two-tracks, rather than technical single-tracks. That will lower his risk from bruising/bleeding by a factor of 20! Roads are better aerobic exercise anyway, because you can focus on breathing and pedaling instead of dodging obstacles.

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  4. That news sounds pretty darn good to me.

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  5. Glad to hear things are stable. That's a relief and sometimes the best you can ask for. Drugs forever is not what anyone wants to hear but the alternative seems a lot worse. Now back to living the life you want to live.

    Your sunrise with the cactus is just gorgeous. I'm not one for man made lakes given how I feel about dams, taming a river and changing environments to accommodate too many people especially in an area that should be using all that available solar. But that said, your pictures of the water are lovely.

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  6. I guess this news could have been a whole lot worse. Wonder if wearing compression stockings would help. I have bad veins and was told to wear them always. Sure make my legs feel better and no more swelling up. The 'lake' looks gorgeous. Always nice to hike by water. Hope to see you in the desert. Planning to be in the Quartzsite area mid-January.

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  7. way to get back on that bike, we have our mayo appts in Feb in Arizona... will be in Quartzite and Yuma before that so it appears we will cross paths sometime...

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  8. Glad to hear Jim is back on his bike and that you had a chance to spend some time at Saguaro Lake. Nice area to paddle this time of year when most of the power boats are hibernating.

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  9. Sounds like it"s time for a "live life to the fullest" philosophy. And maybe a bike helmet...you never know. Keep on keep'n on!

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  10. We have been waiting to hear some good news about Jim. It's so nice to hear that he can get back to living the good life. We look forward to reading about all his bike rides ride and hikes.

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  11. Those are very nice pictures of the lake; I think they're postcard caliber. I'm sorry to hear Jim will be on anticoagulants until the cows come home. At least the docs have not forbidden the mountain bike.

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  12. At least now you know what is needed to stay healthy. Thankfully, it won't interfere with your fun.

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  13. Good news to hear Jim can hit the bike trails again...with care:) Taking any kind of medicine isn't fun. Hope all continues on the right path for Jim.

    Beautiful hike! Your photos are gorgeous.

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  14. Gayle should have added that the doctor commented it was about risk vs reward. Gayle felt that the more risks I take the greater her potential reward.

    Jim

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  15. I've heard helmets make you go faster...... Love the pics along the water, what a pretty place!

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  16. Ought to ask doc about having an "umbrella" surgically placed that catches the clots. My ex had that done and it got him off the blood thinners far sooner than the forever he was also told. Delighted to hear tho, that things have improved and Jim is back on the bike. Merry Christmas to you two!

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  17. I can imagine how Jim must feel. But I guess the good really does outweigh the bad.

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  18. I second the advice about the toe clips. They were the downfall (literally) for one of Gary's last bicycle rides - a 17% grade that he just couldn't resist. Like you, he misses it terribly, but the risks for crushed bones (in his case) are just too great.

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