Angela Wright said:Honestly, if you want my take—and I mean this objectively—there’s actually a ton of hope here: they really want to help him! That’s huge. In my experience, doctors aren't just throwing things at the wall; if they didn't think there was a real shot at helping someone, they wouldn't be wasting their time or resources. Just trust in divine providence—you know, that nudge from God that steered you away from a closed door and toward an open window instead. Light a candle at Stone Gate and say a prayer. It always helped me back when my mom was sick. I truly believe your dad is going to pull through. Hang in there!
Thanks for the kind words—it’s just so tough when it’s someone you love, especially when you'd give anything to carry that weight for them but can't. I'm hoping to check back in with some better news next time.
So my mom is heading in right now to sign the consent forms for surgery—they’re doing a bypass, and I'm assuming they'll put in stents too, otherwise there wouldn't be much point in the bypass... Really hoping everything goes smoothly, honestly, I'm pretty freaked out 😢.
Edit: Turns out the doctors say Dad doesn't even have an aneurysm. Back in Los Angeles, they told Mom she had lung cancer and an aneurysm, just totally guessing. Then the lung scans came back and they were like, "never mind, no cancer," but they hadn't even done the angiography before sending him home—like, how does that even work? Her external iliac artery is completely blocked, so they're thinking about doing a bypass from the aorta to the femoral artery. Just praying she's strong enough to pull through the surgery and the general anesthesia.
Angela Wright said:I see this as a double-edged sword. Amputating a leg isn't exactly some minor procedure—you really ought to get a second opinion. From an outsider's perspective, cutting off someone's leg just to wait and see if they recover feels like stripping away a person's dignity—it's pure agony. He’s been through enough already, so please don't put him through that 😢. Honestly? If it were me, I’d take the gamble on the aneurysm surgery and leave the rest in God's hands. Maybe Mom should sit down with him and try to make the call together. It’s a brutal choice, but at the end of the day, I think Dad is still capable of making his own decisions . For stuff like this, Dr. Biočina in Dubravi is basically a legend, btw.
The surgery is urgent, though I'm not even sure if Dad is stable enough to be moved to another hospital. As for his decision, he can't really weigh his options right now because the pain is just too intense—they've had to give him sedatives, and he hasn't been lucid for days; he's been hallucinating and everything. They actually have him restrained because he can't stay still after the tests, but he forgets that so fast that he keeps trying to get up, so they had to tie him down for his own safety . Yeah, I'm with you—I’d rather take the risk and hope for the best, because we'll end up in the same spot anyway: that aneurysm needs surgery, and there are zero guarantees about recovery . Mentally, he definitely won't bounce back that quickly. He was in a room with a patient who had an amputation, then heard wrong that it was going to happen to *him*, and he spiraled into a deep depression that day—wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat or drink. Once the doctor cleared things up and explained it wasn't him, he felt a bit better . The call is really up to Mom, and she thinks amputating is the better move so he can recover—she's focused on him surviving first, then dealing with the aorta later. But the real question is the recovery; this man has been in constant pain for months, bouncing between hospitals, and he's been through the wringer mentally. If they take his leg, I honestly think that would be the end of him 😢. Such a heavy choice. Personally, I'd rather take the chance and pray for the best... plus, the longer we wait on a potential recovery from amputation, the more that aneurysm expands, which just raises the stakes. I just can't wait for this all to be over so Dad can get back to being himself 😢.
It was honestly such a shock seeing my dad in the hospital today—they actually have him strapped to the bed... The doctors are saying he's just too weak for the aneurysm surgery right now. It’s super risky, even though doing it would fix both his aorta and his leg issue at once. So, the plan is likely to amputate the leg first, then hopefully tackle the aorta once he's recovered. I’m totally lost on what the smarter move is—risking the whole thing and having him potentially pass away on the table, or going through with the amputation and praying he recovers enough for the next step. He hasn't eaten a thing in two months and he's getting weaker by the day; he's just over it all, and I know he'll spiral into a deep depression if they take the leg and he can't even make it to the aorta surgery. Personally, I’d even consider the amputation if it meant he had a shot at surviving the aorta surgery later, but honestly, I have my doubts. Mom is the one making the call, and I feel terrible that the weight of this is all on her shoulders... It’s hitting all of us hard, but I think she’s carrying the heaviest burden.
Jesse Ward45 said:My dad decided to take shark liver oil on his own—not exactly the brightest move—and ended up getting jaundice. According to the tests, it’s not metastases, just his own mistake. Apparently, it should clear up in about 10 days. Continuing chemo is totally off the table right now. But I've got another issue on my hands. It feels like he's fallen into a deep depression because he refuses to eat anything at all. Just a tiny bit of soup for the entire day. Naturally, the whole chemo process has been thrown out of whack—he has zero energy, isn't eating or drinking, and is basically living off the IV fluids. Talking to him, threatening him, pleading with him... nothing works. He's going to starve if we don't do something, but we don't have time to get him to a psychiatrist, and honestly, we couldn't even drive him there if we wanted to. If we give him antidepressants, he'll just sleep, and he's already pretty lethargic. What do we do next?
Is he in pain? Maybe that's why he won't eat, or could it be purely the depression? My dad lost about 45 pounds in just two months because of the pain—he's also refusing to eat. We're just hoping he'll start again once things settle down. We gave him some Pulmocare last year when he had lung issues and was feeling weak, and that actually helped kickstart his appetite. Maybe try giving him those high-calorie nutritional shakes while you look for professional help?
Angela Wright said:Honestly, nothing has changed at Firulama in the last 25 years—not one thing. My late grandma had this exact same experience... they were supposed to do a bypass for her but it failed, so instead, they basically just patched up her leg in a way that wouldn't even satisfy a pig. When she complained, they actually told her to stop being dramatic because they’d be amputating her legs in a few weeks anyway. So, she pulled some strings, got herself into the VIP ward at the old military hospital, and finally got treatment that literally brought her back from the dead.
It's a total disaster. My dad spent a month and a half stuck in that hospital without them performing a single test—when he finally asked for pain meds, the nurse just handed him some Tylenol. It's embarrassing. And mind you, we actually had a "connection" there, so he was supposedly getting "better" care. The only silver lining is that he'll at least get the proper tests done in Washington, D.C. so we can figure out a plan, even though he wasted so much precious time.
Situations like this make me feel ashamed of my future profession.
Hey everyone! Last year, my dad was diagnosed with a carotid clot—over 90% blockage. Thankfully, he made it through that okay, but ever since then, it’s just been one thing after another. He’s dealing with heart issues and atherosclerosis too. Then, about two months ago, he headed down to a hospital in Miami because his knee was killing him, only to find out he had a bunch of clots in the veins of his left leg. To make matters worse, they discovered an abdominal aortic aneurysm, and now the "new" diagnosis is arterial blockage in that same left leg. The hospital didn't actually DO anything to fix the issue—literally NOTHING—they just sent him home without a solid plan, telling him to come back for a follow-up in two months. He was actually stuck in that hospital for a month and a half. As soon as he got home (he was only home for a single day), our family decided to get a second opinion at the Mayo Clinic, where the doctors were honestly shocked he hadn't come in sooner. Now, we might be looking at amputation. His foot has been numb for a while and his leg is turning purple. The pain has been constant since the end of April. I am just so angry and heartbroken over all this! The folks in Miami didn't lift a finger besides sending him home; they didn't even finish his tests. We actually found out about the blocked arteries and the aneurysm from a family friend—a specialist doctor there who suspected it and told my mom—and those suspicions were later confirmed by doctors in Washington, D.C. It's a total disaster. My dad wasted precious time lying in a hospital bed where they didn't even complete his workup. Tomorrow, they’ll run all the necessary tests in Washington, D.C., and then we'll know what's next and what kind of surgery he needs. I'm terrified of what the results will show, and it breaks my heart seeing him suffer like this for months. He’s taking so many painkillers that today he was completely disoriented. And I haven't even mentioned that last year they found a cyst on his lung. When he went in for his check-up in April, the cyst looked round and the same size, so they didn't want to biopsy it. But then he suffered a pulmonary embolism and pneumonia, and less than a month after that follow-up scan, they found some irregular mass on his other lung. So, it wasn't there in early April, but after the embolism and pneumonia, it showed up by the end of the month. They’re going to biopsy it this week at the Mayo Clinic. I’m praying it isn't cancer, especially since that mass appeared in less than a month, even though he hasn't had a cough or a fever or anything like that. Ugh, I don't even know what to think anymore. On top of everything, I have college finals coming up, and I can't focus on anything except my dad. 😢 😢.
Amanda Lewis66 said:It really depends on which doctor you're looking at—you didn't mention which city you're planning to be in. I'd suggest checking out some local outpatient clinics to get a feel for their pricing. Most places charge for consultations, so maybe just shoot them a few emails first to get a ballpark range before you go driving around in person.
Yeah, looks like I wasn't super clear there 😁. She wants to do it at a hospital in Miami—specifically at Fenway Park, where her sister actually had her surgery done. I'm just not sure how the pricing works... I assume private clinics vary, but since we're talking about a public hospital, is there like a set standard price used by all hospitals across the country?
Hey everyone. My sister just had nose surgery over in Miami—I actually posted before about how incredible the work was and how much she loves her new look! She needed it because of some old kickboxing injuries we both picked up back in the day; she had a deviated septum and could barely breathe. Since it was functional, the hospital covered everything, even the bone reshaping. I don't have any breathing issues at all, but I’m looking into getting it done just for the aesthetics—it’s got this slight C-shape curve. I know since it's purely cosmetic, insurance won't touch it, so I'm wondering if anyone knows what the typical out-of-pocket cost looks like for something like this.
I was wondering where I can actually go to get this done in Washington, D.C.? And like, where can I pick one up locally? Plus—any idea what the damage is gonna be like cost-wise?
Since it was actually a deviated septum, she had the surgery for medical reasons—so it ended up being totally free. Fixing that little bump on her nose was just a nice little bonus...
I haven't gone under the knife myself, but my sister just had her nose done last week—so I figured I'd share how it went, hopefully it helps someone out 🙂. She had a deviated septum, plus she wanted to fix a little bump on the bridge, so they worked on the bone too. She went to see Professor Račić at the Firulama clinic—she was only swollen for about a day (and by that, I mean the area around the nose, because obviously the nose itself stays puffy for a bit), and she didn't even get a bruise—just some slight yellowing under her eyes on that first day, nothing major. I've heard from other doctors that patients usually deal with way more swelling, but this guy really took his time—I guess it depends a lot on the surgical approach and how much care is put into it. Taking the Tampon out was pretty rough, though—she had to have them removed twice. First, they pulled the bottom ones, then later they did the rest that were deeper in, since her deviation was pretty severe and the doctor wanted to leave part of the Tampon in to let the septum settle. That second time? No pain at all. She says her nose feels totally straight now—she either saw it or felt it when she was changing the cast, I'm not 100% sure, but she doesn't take the cast off until Friday, so we'll know for real then... but from what I can tell, the doctor did an amazing job 🙂. Anyway, if anyone's looking to get surgery in Miami and is torn between the hospital and a private clinic... here's another perspective. Cheers!
Hey everyone! My sister’s getting a septum surgery soon—she’s got quite a deviation there. I was wondering what kind of foods actually helped you guys through recovery, and how long you had to stick to a specific diet? She’s pretty nervous about the whole thing, both the procedure and the healing part, so I really want to help make her recovery as smooth as possible—even if it's just through what she eats.. Any advice would be huge!
Adam Campbell3 said:So, aren't Yaz and Jasmin basically the same thing? Contraception? If you're suppressing ovulation, things stay the same—your numbers don't just magically jump up.
Give Diane a shot. Having 4 clear ones isn't exactly a lot. 🙂
Cysts usually pop up when a woman isn't ovulating, which can lead to permanent infertility, needing a hysterectomy, miscarriages, diabetes, and all that good stuff.
Thanks for the info 🙂. Yaz seems perfect for me since it’s got the lowest hormone levels out there—it feels like Diane has the highest, honestly. I only take Yaz for birth control and it works great for me, so I'm sticking with it. I knew they stopped ovulation, just didn't realize that was what caused the cysts. I read somewhere that they should clear up on their own after a few periods, so I guess my doctor didn't think it was worth mentioning since she's not worried. Still, I'll definitely schedule another checkup in a month or so—that part is 🙂.
Hey there. After being on Yaz for a year now, I finally went in for my annual checkup. My bloodwork came back totally fine, but then she did an ultrasound and told me I've got 4 cysts on my right ovary—though she said not to sweat it. I think she mentioned they were just follicular. That’s basically it. Honestly, I was so shocked that I didn't even think to ask her why they're showing up now. I know women with PCOS usually take Yaz to help clear up cysts, but mine actually popped up while I'm on it. So, what causes these things to form? Do they just go away on their own?