I have a illnesss called Antphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (or APS).  To explane this disease in easy to understand way think your immune system as a pac man.  Eating up all the bad things in our system but what happens when goes out of wack?  That is what is happening in my body.  Pac man (immune system) instead of just eating the bad stuff it attacks the part of my blood that tells the blood not to clot.  The pac man eats (wagga wagga) that part of the blood and without it the blood clots causing blood clots in the heart, lungs and brain.  The memory due to a partial blood or a full blood clot in the brain can also happen.  Also it causes a woman to miscarry her child. 

My grandmother died from this disease.  I almost died from blood cltos in the lungs on March 19, 2006.  I spent 5 days in the hospital.  About 3 of those days  in the ICU.  My Mom after three hours of fighting with me got to the hospital.  I almost passed out getting down the stairs to get to the car.  Then the ER people (who knew me well becasue I get sick quite often) kept on telling me I will be going home soon.  No oxygen on me for 3 hours.  Yes I said 3 hours.  Then they took a CT scan and the oxygen came on and all the monitors you could think of.  I was told by the ER doctor I had  2 huge (yes he used the word huge) Another doctor from my doctor's office came and told me I wasn't go home.  Well I thought I was because they told me all along I would be going home.  That doctor from my doctor's office told me that last week the ER gave another person the IV blood thinners and gave them a brain bleed.  Oh that made me feel real good.  Later on I found out that I have two huge (again the doctor did say huge) blood clots in my right leg that I had sugery on my ankle.

If someone has never had a blood clot in the lungs it is like this.  It feels like about 2 defensive ends laying on top of you.  Some people says it hurts to have a blood clot in the lungs but not me.  It was the feeling that I couldn't breath that got me.  I couldn't even talk because I would get so out of breath.  That is a horrible feeling.  A feeling I never want to feel ever again.  I praise God that I can breath because when you couldn't breath you appreaciate that you can.

I found out later in a book about the disease that I read that I had a clot forming in my brian because my memory was so horrible.  I would be talking and in the middle of the sentance and forget the word I was about to say.  It would take me about five minutes to find that word.  After I started my blood thinners my mind was clear.  My memory was back to normal.  I can tell when my blood thinner level (INR) is down because I get the cloudiness in the mind again.  I know this is kind of silly and shocking to say that those blood clots in my lungs saved my life.

That is not the frustrating part.  This is a common disease.  So common that you would think that almost all the doctors would know about it.  You don't know how many doctors I have seen that didn't have a clue about my illnesss.  So much it makes me want to scream and I hold my breath every time I tell a doctor I have APS waiting for the doctors to say "what is APS?"  It is better then those doctors who you can tell don't know about the disease but just won't ask what it is.  I rather tell someone about the disease than have them stand there  being clueless on what to do about my treatment because of this.  I had one docter who didn't give me medication that I needed very badly.  There was another one that I was going down the list of antibiotics that I take well with my blood thinners and he ask "are you a doctor?"  I told him proudly that I have a Certifided Medical Assistant degree and a certifide nursing assistant degree and he walked out

After all this complaining I just thank God every day I am alive.  It has been three years since that horrible Sunday.  God has blessed me with the gift of life and I thank him for that.