Peripheral Artery Disease
Yea. We just found out that is my mother’s official diagnosis. She’s been having problems with her feet over the last month, or so. Lots of fluid retention, discoloration…pain. I’m a little irked with the Doc she has been seeing about this problem. It could be just me - - with a patient who has diabetes and is a heavy smoker with high blood pressure and that patient tells me that her toes are purple, her foot is so swollen that she can’t put her shoe on and she’s having pain that keeps her from sleeping at night… as a nurse, I’m conditioned to respond to those facts in a pretty urgent manner.
This doc has been putting her through this test, and that test… he even sent her to a Podiatrist for crying out loud! It wasn’t until this past Thursday that they finally did a Doppler test - three weeks after she made her initial symptom complaints to him. The symptoms that have quickly worsened over the past three weeks…to the point of intolerable pain, swelling and much discoloration.
On some level, I am trying to believe that he has a method to his madness - - but today? Today they are talking about possibly amputating her right foot. I can’t help it - but have to wonder if the possible treatment options she is facing could have been avoided? Could this have been treated with bypass surgery instead of amputation if it would have been detected sooner? Or was the disease already to far in it’s progression even then. I’m no doctor. It’s just the questions that are in my head.
We’re waiting on word from the Doc today about what the final decision is on her treatment. Either way, she’ll be having surgery this week - - either a bypass or the amputation, I guess.
Everyone is scared and worried, understandably so. All things get put on hold the minute she heads to the hospital for this - - I’ll be there with her for every second of this.
We’re talking about postponing the wedding until the end of the summer, depending on what her rehabilitation outlook looks like. Not entirely sure I’ll be making that appearance at SXSW in March. None of that really matters at this point.
Seeing Mom through…and Dad - that’s what matters right this minute.