Yukon

I just had a feeling, all day, something was not right. Not right at all, but couldn't put my finger on it.

Yukon, up until two days ago, had been doing very well. A trip to the surgeon on Thursday meant a new splint applied by our friend, a physical therapist, and a ton of laughter as she and her assistant took careful steps to ensure a cool cast. Yukon had only mentioned in passing that his leg ached, but "just a little." That's what started my uneasy feeling.

Fortunately, the physician assistant took heed of my worried look and sent us promptly to the imaging center for an ultrasound. As the time stretched into a half-hour, I began to worry even more, and when the tech came out to find me, I knew.

DVT (or deep vein thrombosis) is a blood clot that can develop in the legs after extended travel, surgery, or, in Yukon's case, no reason at all. There will be a reason, but we don't know it yet. He had DVT back in 2003 right after we were married and I had been keeping a close eye on him post-accident just in case.

After a few hours in the ER, we were sent home with blood-thinning meds to inject into Yukon's stomach and strict instructions to come back if he became short of breath, dizzy, etc etc. Yeah, try explaining to a man how to tell his wife he feels dizzy, short of breath, yada yada and see how far YOU get.

I slept next to Yukon with one eye and ear open that night, and watched yesterday as he puttered around the house with more energy (seemingly) than he had had all week. Hmmmm. As I fixed us lunch, however, he sat at the dining room table with one hand resting on his chin, looking thoughtful and a bit distressed (hairs raising on back of neck).

"What's up?"

"I'm just trying to decide if I am short of breath or not."

"We're leaving right now."

And we did. Left half-eaten sandwiches and the sattelite guy up on the roof, pounding around to fix our storm-damaged dish. Threw The Dog in his kennel and called a friend to pick up Bear.

Pulmonary embolism. Hospital stay. Frantically hunting for legal papers and signing two of them with the witness of friends.

I went back home around 11 p.m. Thought I was doing okay until I saw all the things of Yukon. Shoes. Our bed. His toothbrush. Wedding ring.

Funny when someone's not there how loudly their presence can be announced in other ways.