damned if you do, damned if you don't

Sometimes you just can't win.

Andy's dad, Reg, developed a PE (pulmonary embolism, where a blood clot forms in the legs and then breaks off and gets stuck in the blood vessels in the lungs, making it harder for the lungs to oxygenate the blood; this is a potentially life-threatening complication) over the weekend, so he was put on heparin (a blood thinner) to stop more clots from forming while his body breaks down the clot that's already there.

So today it was noted that his hemoglobin was dropping, indicating that he's bleeding somewhere. This was likely caused or at least exacerbated by the heparin, and a CT this evening showed some retroperitoneal bleeding (blood pooling in his back; the exact source of the bleeding is unclear). So the heparin was immediately stopped and they are now putting in a Greenfield filter, which is a filter that goes into the big vein going up from his lower body towards his heart, and should catch any clots from his legs that might break off and head north. Reg is also receiving a blood transfusion.

To quote Reg's sister Sharon, this is a complication that he didn't need. However, they can still help support Reg with blood transfusions while his body -- PDQ, hopefully -- stops the bleeding.

And the uncertainty continues.

P.S. Andy's brother Kirk also has a blog which he is updating frequently.

P.P.S. Andy and I have decided that we're going ahead with the wedding. We figure we still want to be married, and everything is pretty much arranged, so what the hell.

P.P.P.S. I'm going to donate blood this week. Feel free to join me.