Hello friends.  It's been two years this month since I started this CaringBridge site.  And yet, here we find ourselves again.  Well, sort of.  I have some news to report, but before I scare the bejesus out of you, I should let you know first that everything has turned out well and my dad is on the road to recovery.

So here is the update.

On July 4th my dad was admitted to the hospital for an infection in his remaining foot from a cut on his toe (I know...CRAP!  Are you kidding me?!) .  They decided to go to North Memorial Hospital this time and the doctors discovered that the veins in his leg were clogged.  This was a major concern because this meant that there would never be enough blood to get to the wound in his foot in order to heal his cut.  They tried an angioplasty procedure through the veins in his leg and it was unsuccessful.  The doctors at North Memorial determined that the only other option would be to have reconstructive vascular surgery.  Unfortunately,  the blockage in his leg was too complicated for them to handle.  They told him that he should be prepared that he could end up losing that toe and foot if blood flow could not be improved. He was in the hospital for about a week and since there was nothing more that they could do for him, they asked to be referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.  Lucky for my dad, Mayo Clinic happens to have the best vascular team in the nation.  

He remained on antibiotics for the infection until he could get into Mayo to decide the next step.  A couple of weeks later they went down to Mayo for a few days of a series of tests.  The vascular team came up several plans.  Plan A was to perform a new angioplasty technique called the Drug Coated Balloon where they insert and expand a balloon in the artery and the drug from the balloon keeps the artery expanded instead of using a stent.  It also prevents scarring that could narrow the artery.  We were hoping it would work, but prepared if it didn't.  Plan B was to do reconstructive surgery on his vein and they would actually create and construct new veins for him...which would be a major surgery and a huge recovery.

Here is the good news.  They performed the Plan A procedure last Friday and IT WORKED!  There was significant blood flow after they were finished.  My dad is now an ongoing patient at the Mayo clinic and will be doing all follow ups with the vascular team at Mayo.  It sounds like he is in good hands.

I included a couple of photos at the top of the page.  The look of relief on my dad's face that plan A worked, his pre-opp mess of a spider web looking vein, and the new and improved fully functioning vein.  Blood is a flowin'.

Send all the healthy vibes and prayers his way to get his leg healed and back on his feet.   

Be well friends!

Lindsay