Fibber,

I really appreciate your private encouragement with regard to my leg issues, and wanted to let you and others know I took your advice and insistence that I persist in finding a solution, and that my medical team at the wound care center has sent my information to doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to see if I am a viable candidate for venous reconstructive surgery, where they literally use stents to reconstruct your interior vena cava.

They are the only facility in the country that does this procedure, and according to them, they do this type of operation "all the time," which is mind-blowing to me. They also think they can "de-clot" and fix some of the main veins that are currently blocked. Most of the people who have had this surgery successfully are about my age, and since I do not have either heart disease or diabetes, I may be an ideal candidate.

If it works, I will be much more comfortable, have greater venous flow, more duration on my feet, be far less prone to skin ulcers, and I won't have to teach from a wheelchair anymore!

The information was sent out on Friday, so I am hoping to hear this week. If they do want me to come out for the surgery, I will let everyone know. Even if this particular type of operation doesn't work in my case, the fact they have advanced this far means that there will likely be a way to help me in the near future.