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mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 08:52 PM 17 hrs ago

Hey everybody.. I'm home!!

Your response was truly overwhelming and warmed my heart to the point of making me feel so much better..
For everyone here (most of you) who know more than me, the thrombus (clot) is in the right brachiocephalic artery. It's not huge but big enough.
I did not want to have surgery so we are treating it with anticoagulants.. I had was given intravenous heparin for 24 hours and a new CT scan showed the clot had gotten smaller, so I opted for treating it medically..
I'll be at high risk for stroke for a while but surgery has it's own risk and I''m a big chicken.

We are so lucky in Denver to have this large teaching hospital.. the staff was excellent. I don't think there is better care here. Most all the local hospitals are corporate now..

Many thanks to my DU family for being there for me.. I owe you all a beer or two and I love every one of you.

Just want to add... ambulance crews are underpaid.. They were so good.. and advice for all, don't ignore symptoms of A-fib like I did..

78 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Hey everybody.. I'm home!! (Original Post) mountain grammy 17 hrs ago OP
So glad to hear you are on the mend UpInArms 17 hrs ago #1
Thank you.. mountain grammy 16 hrs ago #22
Welcome home! Now take it easy and follow the instructions question everything 17 hrs ago #2
I will thank you! mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #27
Yay! SheltieLover 17 hrs ago #3
Thank you! mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #28
Glad you are back home. mountain grammy. debm55 17 hrs ago #4
Thanks Deb.. good to be home. mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #29
So good to hear good news 🙏 Deuxcents 16 hrs ago #5
Yes it is.. thank you. mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #30
Welcome home! sheshe2 16 hrs ago #6
Thank you! mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #31
Happy you are home. gademocrat7 16 hrs ago #7
Me too! Thank you! mountain grammy 15 hrs ago #32
Hoping for a quick and complete recovery. My father loved the mountains of Colorado and was able to retire there. surfered 16 hrs ago #8
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #35
Wonderful news, mountain grammy Grim Chieftain 16 hrs ago #9
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #37
Glad you're home. Solly Mack 16 hrs ago #10
Me too! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #38
As Dorothy says.... 70sEraVet 16 hrs ago #11
Yep, so true. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #39
Great news! calimary 16 hrs ago #12
Yes, thank you mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #40
Yay!!! Welcome Back!!!! hatrack 16 hrs ago #13
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #41
welcome home . now the real healing begins.. AllaN01Bear 16 hrs ago #14
Thank you.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #42
Welcome back, mountain grammy! MIButterfly 16 hrs ago #15
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #43
Glad you're on the mend! Take great care of yourself till the risk is over, though. Scrivener7 16 hrs ago #16
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #45
Sadly seta1950 16 hrs ago #17
So true.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #46
Delighted to hear you are home! 3catwoman3 16 hrs ago #18
Yes indeed. I think teaching hospitals are the best.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #47
I'm glad you're back home and I hope you're comfortable and on the mend FakeNoose 16 hrs ago #19
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #48
Welcome home, my dear mountain grammy! Such great news! CaliforniaPeggy 16 hrs ago #20
Thank you CP.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #49
Best wishes for a speedy recovery - TBF 16 hrs ago #21
Thank you mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #50
HOORAY! GOOD FOR YOU! raging moderate 15 hrs ago #23
Thank you mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #53
Just be real careful Figarosmom 15 hrs ago #24
yea, I'm already bruised from the IV's and blood draws.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #54
Must be great to be back home! PatSeg 15 hrs ago #25
So true.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #55
Welcome home. My dad had a clot and was in hospital for a week. After he was treated with applegrove 15 hrs ago #26
Good to hear! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #56
That's good news to hear! hamsterjill 15 hrs ago #33
Thank you.. mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #52
Yayyyyy for you being home!!! Continuing vibes for your swift, niyad 14 hrs ago #34
Thank you! mountain grammy 14 hrs ago #57
This is good news. LoisB 14 hrs ago #36
Thank you.. it sure is! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #66
Good to hear cate94 14 hrs ago #44
Thank you, working on that! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #67
Yay! mwmisses4289 14 hrs ago #51
Thank you! Yay indeed!!! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #68
Hooray! murielm99 11 hrs ago #58
Thank you! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #65
Oh wow, I missed where you were having medical issues KS Toronado 6 hrs ago #59
Thank you KS mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #69
Hope you recover fully and quickly! HeartsCanHope 5 hrs ago #60
Thank you! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #70
Hugs 🧡 and Healing 🩵 Clouds Passing 4 hrs ago #61
Thank you.. mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #71
Yay! area51 4 hrs ago #62
Thank you! mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #72
Great news!👍.... MiHale 4 hrs ago #63
Indeed it is.. thank you mountain grammy 3 hrs ago #73
Awesome! MaineNative 4 hrs ago #64
Thank you mountain grammy 2 hrs ago #74
Be gentle with yourself malaise 2 hrs ago #75
I would have made the same choice, grammy! some_of_us_are_sane 2 hrs ago #76
You're too tough to let a little ol' blood clot in your lungs bring you down! You're going to kick the snot out ... marble falls 2 hrs ago #77
👍❤️ underpants 1 hr ago #78

question everything

(52,613 posts)
2. Welcome home! Now take it easy and follow the instructions
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 08:57 PM
17 hrs ago

I wonder whether there is a foundations dedicated to assist the ambulance crews.

surfered

(15,026 posts)
8. Hoping for a quick and complete recovery. My father loved the mountains of Colorado and was able to retire there.
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:27 PM
16 hrs ago

I occasionally drove them to Drs in Denver.

mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
35. Thank you!
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:17 PM
14 hrs ago

I love it too and lived in the mountains for 30 years. left because I couldn't breathe anymore and winters were brutal.. not so bad with climate change.

Grim Chieftain

(2,300 posts)
9. Wonderful news, mountain grammy
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:30 PM
16 hrs ago

I am so very happy for you! Please take care and do something special for yourself. You deserve it.

MIButterfly

(3,462 posts)
15. Welcome back, mountain grammy!
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:47 PM
16 hrs ago

It's great to have you back and I know you're happy to be home. I wish you the best in your recovery and I hope you feel better and better every day.

Take it easy, get some rest and take good care of yourself.

Scrivener7

(60,338 posts)
16. Glad you're on the mend! Take great care of yourself till the risk is over, though.
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:48 PM
16 hrs ago

Sounds like you have it on the run, though.

3catwoman3

(30,151 posts)
18. Delighted to hear you are home!
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:52 PM
16 hrs ago

I went to nursing school at the University of Rochester, in the city of the same name, in western upstate NY. It was and still is a major medical center.

It forever set my standards for what good health care is, and I will never, ever be willing to live anywhere remote or underserved.

My master's is from the U of Colorado. I love Denver and the surrounding area. I often wish we still lived there.

mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
47. Yes indeed. I think teaching hospitals are the best..
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:28 PM
14 hrs ago

Very good experience, except for the being sick part.. great people..

FakeNoose

(42,983 posts)
19. I'm glad you're back home and I hope you're comfortable and on the mend
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 09:53 PM
16 hrs ago

I'm in Pittsburgh where we are lucky to have some wonderful teaching hospitals. It's a great feeling, knowing they are there for all of us. Be sure to listen to your doctors and follow their orders.

TBF

(37,609 posts)
21. Best wishes for a speedy recovery -
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 10:08 PM
16 hrs ago

and pace yourself (best advice my cardiologist gave me!). So glad you're ok.

mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
53. Thank you
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:38 PM
14 hrs ago

not exactly recovered, but managing and know what I'm dealing with.. The doc said it was a good sign that I came out of the A fib by myself..

Figarosmom

(14,617 posts)
24. Just be real careful
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 10:54 PM
15 hrs ago

Don't cut yourself or anything. It's just till the clot goes away. Be very careful. Glad there was a way to avoid surgery.

PatSeg

(54,007 posts)
25. Must be great to be back home!
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 10:55 PM
15 hrs ago

Nothing like a hospital stay to make one appreciate being home!

applegrove

(133,706 posts)
26. Welcome home. My dad had a clot and was in hospital for a week. After he was treated with
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:00 PM
15 hrs ago

Warfarin he never had another issue. Had to get regular blood tests.

hamsterjill

(17,942 posts)
33. That's good news to hear!
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:11 PM
15 hrs ago

Which we all need, right? I'm glad you are on the mend. Like you, I share the "chicken" part when it comes to medical issues and I think your decision was a good choice. People who don't understand the anxiety don't get the "fear" that comes.

Wishing you all the very best...and YES ambulance crews are underpaid.

niyad

(135,281 posts)
34. Yayyyyy for you being home!!! Continuing vibes for your swift,
Tue Jun 23, 2026, 11:14 PM
14 hrs ago

complete, recovery and healing.

KS Toronado

(24,167 posts)
59. Oh wow, I missed where you were having medical issues
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 07:15 AM
6 hrs ago

that or I forgot, been doing a lot of that after my chemo. Glad your home and currently don't need surgery,
hope you stay that way.

mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
69. Thank you KS
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 10:56 AM
3 hrs ago

I thought of you often and all you've been through. quite inspiring.. you hang in three!

MaineNative

(107 posts)
64. Awesome!
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 10:03 AM
4 hrs ago

You were in good hands. A lot of positive energy is focused on you. I was one of the folks who ignored A-fib like a ding-dong. I felt it while running a couple of years ago, but kept ignoring it, and then the clot happened. It made its way to my brain and dropped me like a 130-pound weight. I felt like I was in the middle of the Pink Floyd song "Comfortably Numb." My partner watched this and totally freaked out. She was speaking Spanish to me (her first language), trying to get me to come around, and it all started to make sense as I came out of it. I am not fully fluent in Spanish, lol, but we've been together almost 38 years.

I went through similar care, although I am now on Eliquis and a statin. Maine Medical has a separate ICU for strokes (I had a TIA), and they took great care of me via the VAs Community Care Network. I've had 4 CT Scans and an MRI. Surgery is a hard decision. I see my cardiologist in a couple of months, and I am sure we'll discuss the ablation option, but it freaks me out. We are sending positive vibes your way!

mountain grammy

(29,389 posts)
74. Thank you
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 11:19 AM
2 hrs ago

and thanks for opening up about it Funny, the doctor said I've had it for a while cause the signs are there.. Yes, I have had episodes that I totally ignored, as I tried to ignore this one, but an hour of extreme chest pain convinced me to tell my husband to call 911. Heart rate was 151.. went up to 200 during the ambulance ride. The good news, I came out of the A fib on my own in the ER.. So feeling so much better, I was stunned whtn the doc came in and said, we're admitting you.. Yikes! I was in trouble and it was just sinking in.

The care I got, holy cow, it was outstanding.. not to have surgery after all the tests and knowing everything, was my decision but my team of doctors approved.. In three days, I had 3 CT scans. What an experience, right? So lucky we had good, competent care.

all the best to you MaineNative.. I love Maine, visited a few times when I lived in CT.. would love to return.. Stay well and don't fall down!

some_of_us_are_sane

(3,844 posts)
76. I would have made the same choice, grammy!
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 12:04 PM
2 hrs ago


WELCOME HOME! I wish you happiness and hopefulness...those two will stand you in good stead!

marble falls

(73,443 posts)
77. You're too tough to let a little ol' blood clot in your lungs bring you down! You're going to kick the snot out ...
Wed Jun 24, 2026, 12:11 PM
2 hrs ago

... of this little setback.

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