On my birthday (14th Jan) I began complaining of a cramp in my leg. I thought nothing of it, but the pain didn't go away and a few days later my leg had swelled up like a balloon. By the weekend I couldn't walk. My partner insisted that I go to the doctor (today) and as soon as the doctor saw me he became immediately concerned.

I was rushed off for x-rays and ultrasounds and doppler scans and the upshot of it all is that I have a blood clot in my calf (thankfully below the knee) Seems I have DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) and for the life of me I don't know how I could have got such a thing. They think it may be connected with family history, so I'll have a genetics test when the clot clears. I haven't been on a long haul flight, I don't have any sports injuries and as far as I can tell, I'm not pregnant.

I am now admitted to the hospital as a patient but because I don't need 24 hour watch anymore I am a Home Care Patient. I get a nurse around every day injecting me with stuff (that needle mother f**cking kills), taking blood and then letting me know the medication I need to help dissolve the blood clot. She will be doing this for five days. After that, if they are happy, I will be discharged and then placed on an excercise programe to get my legs moving again. I will be on the anticlotting drugs for 3-6 months.

The upshot of all this is that I am to rest at home, which means I can spend some time writing. So yeah...I'm good, if a little shaken by how things can suddenly turn in life. Here's me so worried about my partner it didn't even cross my mind that I would have anything happen to me. I was invincible. So I thought...

Oh, and I look real sexy in compression stockings let me tell you!

*hugs*

Mark.