The road to recovery will be a partnership between my wife and me plus a range of healthcare providers. The list includes phlebotomists for blood draws, medical technicians for ultrasound scans, x-rays, and CT scans. Radiologists behind the scenes will analyze the images. My physician team tracing my progress toward recovery includes the cystectomy surgeon, the hematologist who analyzes my blood chemistry, the oncologist who will keep an eye on the original cancer, and my primary care physician. Rounding out the team are visiting nurses and physical therapists.
Last week was an important milestone, driving my car. The Tesla Model X Full Self Driving – Supervised was not essential but it added some confidence on the Interstate and other busy roads. My first destination was to the hospital’s ultrasound facility. The purpose of the scan was to look for a clot in my lower leg described last week to see if it had moved or grown. Thankfully, it had disappeared.
A vascular surgeon had inserted an Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filter, a small medical device placed inside the inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the human body, responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body, like my leg where the clot was, up to the right atrium of the heart. The filter would catch and trap the clots.
I found the filter technology interesting. My comments are not medically based but I thought you might find them interesting. I think of the filter like an umbrella. The vascular surgeon, after I was under anesthesia, inserted the filter in my groin and navigated it up to its landing place. This is done by using fluoroscopy, think of that as real-time or video x-rays, enabling the vascular surgeon to guide the filter precisely. The doctors recommended removing the filter within a couple of months.
The removal took place at a vascular surgery center off-campus from the main hospital. A team of four including surgeon, radiology technician, surgery assistant, and nurse performed the surgery using sophisticated flouroscopic equipment. Think of the filter again as an umbrella. It was open to catch clots. You certainly would not want the surgeon to pull it back downward. The procedure started with anesthesia again, and an insertion into my neck. The surgeon guided an instrument down to the filter. The filter had a hook on top. The surgeon attached the instrument to the hook and surrounded the filter with a covering, and then pulled the filter up and out of my neck. The incision was painful that evening but after some Tylenol, it was fine the next day.
So much for clots. Now that I am walking 2,000+ steps every day, it is unlikely new clots will form. On a long flight, I will wear compression socks. The highlight of the week was driving the Model X. Next week, it will be in-house physical therapy, a CT scan, and visits with oncologist, cardiologist, and rheumatologist all to make sure things are under control.
The Road to Recovery
The Bumpy Road to Recovery
A Bump on the Road to Surgery
Epilogue – The image of the road to recovery was generated by my Perplexity AI for use in my blog post in August. I asked the AI to remove the bump and add a sign to reflect what is happening. All articles were written by me.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
