I no longer have CVT. This is good news. The blood clot on my brain was absorbed and I've fully recovered without a single stroke!
I did, however, get another blood clot in my right arm, and that got me put back on blood thinners. I met up with my Hematologist who tells me she's tested me for everything they have a test for, and I keep testing negative, so they've yet to invent a test for whatever I have that causes blood clots.
But make no mistake, I have something that causes blood clots, and the treatment is to put me on blood thinners "indefinitely". That's the word they use. I'm to pop two pills a day "indefinitely".
As a realist, I take "indefinitely" to mean "until my final breath". This medication prevents blood clots, and the next blood clot could kill me. I'm grateful there are minimal side effects, but this does mean:
- no contact sports
- I need to be very careful not to cut myself
- a bike crash (or other accident) could cause internal bleeding
- I can no longer donate blood
That last point really irks me. I regularly donated blood and felt good when Canadian Blood Services would tell me how many lives I saved. Is there anything more powerful than saving lives?
My blood donation days have sadly come to an end, but I encourage you to pick up the mantle and make an appointment at blood.ca.
