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My niece, Melissa (on Mrs DocV's side of the family), had an emergency amputation of her legs today. She woke up in intense pain on Monday night and went to the hospital. A blood clot traveled down into her legs. Diagnosis took some time as did a surgical attempt to repair the clots in the legs. Unfortunately, the damage to her legs was too severe. She also has clots in her lungs, spine and, possibly, elsewhere. Melissa is in her mid-fifties and is married to a retired Army Colonel. She has two grown children - a boy and a girl- and grandchildren.

Doc, I'm so sorry to read this. Your niece is on our prayer list also.

Chas.

I am so sorry to hear news like this. Melissa, you, and your dear family will be on our prayer list.

Many here will pray for her. I will too.

Prayers sent to the Father

Praying...

Prayers also from here

Praying for her.

I am so sorry to hear of this. We will be praying for Melissa and her extended family.

Melissa is holding her own. She is heavily sedated but responsive. Her surgical wounds are healing well. Her white cell count has been elevated but is dropping. The primary medical concern has been a large aortal clot. Melissa's doctors say they will start treating the thrombosis tomorrow. I take that as an indication that they have come up with a game plan. Her family remains optimist to the point that her husband, Robert, felt confident enough to make a supply run to their home to Leavenworth from the hospital in Kansas City.

Melissa finally came out of her sedation and is alert. Her mental state is good. However, she was shocked to see her amputation and she is experiencing phantom leg pain . As soon as the treatment for her clots seemed to be making progress, she started coughing up blood. The docs gave her two [liters <- whoops too much] units of blood last night and are planning a colonoscopy to see they can locate the bleeding. Her medical treatment is complicated by the fact that Melissa is on blood thinners in order to treat the clot in her aorta. The docs consider giving her multiple transfusions to be less risky than taking her off the blood thinners in order to be able to operate.

Her husband, Robert, is amazingly dedicated and constant in his attention to Melissa's well-being. Robert had a heart attack not too long ago so I am praying for his physical and spiritual strength.

edit: corrected transfusion quantity.

Do her doctors know the origins of her clotting?

Sending continued prayers from here.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Do her doctors know the origins of her clotting?

No, they do not. There is a lot of speculation but the origin remains unknown.

Today's update:
Melissa's sigmoidoscopy revealed her bleeding is from ischemic colitis resulting from the blood clots. The doctors reported damage went as far as they could see using the sigmoidoscope. On the up side, Melissa has a great attitude and told the doctors that she "had them stumped".