The results are in....

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and fasting in my behalf. The Vascular Surgeon in Vienna that met with us for a short while told me how lucky I was that I was still alive. I know that the prayers and fasting in my behalf have helped me immensly. I know that I am not merely lucky, but I am very blessed. Thank you for all of your love and concern. Now to the medical report...

I tested positive for the Factor V Leiden mutation. This means that I am prone to blood clots and the rest of my family gets to join me in the blood testing fun. The Doctor I saw today has ordered some more blood work to be done and also another ultrasound in December. I will go see him at the end of December to see if the clot is still there and to get the results of the blood tests. If the clot is there I will continue to take Coumadin every day and we will check later to see if it has dissolved. If it is not there then I will be homefree, but I will still have to take a baby aspirin everyday to thin my blood. I will probably have to take a baby aspirin everyday for the rest of my life, but that is easy. I just pray that the blood clot will dissolve by the end of December. That would be so nice if I didn't have to worry about it anymore. The Doctor also said that I didn't have to wear my favorite stockings unless I noticed swelling and that I could ease back into my normal day activities. Yay!

Here is some information pasted directly from good ole' Wikipedia about the Factor V (roman numeral 5) Leiden stuff: Studies have found that about 5% of caucasians in North America have factor V Leiden. The disease is less common in Hispanics and African-Americans and is extremely rare in people of Asian descent. Up to 30% of patients who present with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism have this condition. Factor V Leiden doubles the risk that a person will have a DVT during their life, but it is unclear whether these individuals are at increased risk for recurrent venous thrombosis. While only 1% of people with factor V Leiden have two copies of the defective gene, these homozygous individuals have a more severe clinical condition. The presence of acquired risk factors for venous thrombosis -- including smoking, use of estrogen-containing (combined) forms of hormonal contraception use, and recent surgery -- further increase the chance that an individual with the factor V Leiden mutation will develop DVT. Women with Factor V Leiden have a substantially increased risk of clotting in pregnancy (and on estrogen containing birth control pills or hormone replacement) in the form of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. They also have an increased risk of preeclampsia, as well as miscarriage and stillbirth due to clotting in the placenta, umbilical cord, or the fetus (fetal clotting may depend on whether the baby has inherited the gene). Note that many of these women go through one or more pregnancies with no difficulties, while others may miscarry over and over again, and still others may develop clots within weeks of becoming pregnant.