IVC filter & going home

The day at the hospital was marked by delays and more delays. The procedure to place the IVC filter in my Inferior Vena Cava was scheduled at 1PM. I was asked not to drink or eat anything all morning. I eagerly waited and waited and waited. Binita stopped by early in the morning and hung out with me before going to work and returning back for the procedure. Ian stopped by too.

Unfortunately, there was a delay. The procedure was pushed back to 2:30PM. So I waited and waited. I was hungry and thirty (and admittedly a bit cranky). It’s a good thing that this hospital has Internet access! I could actually get some work done and socialize with some of my friends who work as little as I do!

Finally at 3PM, I was wheeled out to Interventional Radiology and prepped for the procedure to insert the Celect Filter into my IVC. The nurses were super nice and the whole procedure (including prep and unprep) took about 45 minutes. I saw what the filter looks like and I thought it was HUGE!! As you can see from the picture, it has a strange shape but apparently it works very well.

Lightly sedated, I was back in my room by 4PM. The first thing I did was eat and drink. A grilled cheese, some yogurt with honey, another veggie sandwich, two glasses of OJ and a glass of water. That felt good!

Mitch stopped by (again); and at around 5PM, the nurse (Mary Kate) said that I was going home today. That lifted my spirits. My vitals were stable and I need to ride out the next two weeks with no strenuous activities before proceeding to start running.

Unfortunately, I have no permission to fly for 6 weeks. This puts a damper on our Hawaii vacation. I guess it’s a small price to pay for the ordeal I am going through. My pups will be happy because I have all the permission in the world to walk them forever.

At around 6:15PM, I was discharged. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. Simple pleasures!!

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