Caring Magazine

Deep venous thrombosis, commonly referred to as DVT, is a blood clot that develops in a deep vein, usually in the leg. The American Heart Association estimates that 1 out of every 1,000 Americans develops DVT annually.

Mack joined this statistical group in early August after attending a coaching clinic in Las Vegas. A thunderstorm and a handful of accidents slowed traffic tremendously, causing the typical five-hour drive back to Ventura to take seven and a half hours. With prolonged periods of inactivity, such as a long car or plane ride (or lying in a hospital bed), there is a tendency for blood to accumulate, and a static pool of blood provides an ideal environment for a DVT.

Taking a break every two hours to walk around a little and facilitate blood flow is recommended to help prevent DVT. Mack, however, made only one quick stop for gas during his lengthy trip home. Compounding the problem, he was a passenger in an economy car.

"In a bigger car, maybe, I could have moved around and stretched out more during the drive," recalls Mack, 45, who within 10 days found himself in the Emergency Room at Community Memorial Hospital.

"I hadn't realized the importance of taking time to stop and move around and get the blood flowing a little bit."

Mack also didn't initially realize anything was wrong after arriving home, though he admits he did feel like he had a little leg cramp when he got out of the car. A couple days later when he experienced some groin pain, he attributed it to a water fight he had participated in during a block party the weekend before his Vegas trip. "I figured I had strained a muscle," he allows.

When the pain intensified and migrated down his left leg to his knee and calf, Mack finally went to the hospital at his wife Kathy's insistence. "She didn't care if the football season was about to start or not," shares Mack.

It was a good thing he listened to Kathy: an ultrasound showed a constellation of blood clots up and down his leg from the calf to the groin.

"I thought I'd just take a pill to break them up," Mack says he naively thought. "I had never heard of DVT's. At this point I wasn't thinking I was in a life-and-death situation."

The CMH healthcare experts knew better and immediately transported Mack by wheelchair to the E.R. "Uh-oh, now I realized this was serious," recalls Mack.

Gravely serious. Deep venous thrombosis can be fatal if it leads to a pulmonary embolism in which a clot dislodges from the vein, travels to the lung and blocks an artery. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 600,000 people in the United States have a pulmonary embolism each year - and 90 percent of these are caused by blood clots that form in the legs. More frightening, an estimated 60,000 Americans die from pulmonary embolisms annually.

After being rushed to the E.R., a CAT scan brought Mack face-to-face with these statistics: "It showed that my lungs were polluted with clots," he says. "I realized my life was threatened. I stayed awake all night in the hospital because I was afraid to go to sleep."

"It was scary, but I had great faith in the wonderful doctors and nurses," Mack continues, specifically noting Dr. John Handley, a pulmonary specialist at CMH. "They were all so calm and reassuring. I knew I was in great hands."

A regimen of blood thinners brought the condition well enough under control for Mack to be released from the hospital after one week. Still, he was given strict doctor's orders to take another week of virtual bed rest with his leg elevated.

By his own admission, however, Mack quickly overdid things.

"I was a victim of the tough-guy mentality," confides Mack, who has called in sick only once during his 15 years at St. Bonaventure. "Two weeks later, my leg was swollen, I had no energy and my blood tests were bad. I realized I had to change my lifestyle. I realized I couldn't work 14 hours a day. I realized no one is indispensable."

Actually, one person came into focus as indispensable - Kathy. "She's taken a tremendous load with the home and kids and me," Jon Mack shares of his wife of 23 years. "She's been incredibly strong when I'm scared. I think she saw me as indestructible, just as I did, but now we know better."

The couple's three children: Justin, 6; Kristen, 12; and Jenny, 18 - have also had to face that harsh reality. "It's been hard on all of them," Mack says, noting it has been especially difficult for Jenny because she is away from home as a freshman at San Diego State. "Justin knows Dad was real sick and real scared; Kristen knows more; and Jenny knows everything."

There have also been a rainbow among the clouds.

"This has changed my life," shares Mack. "I lived football before - our whole family's life revolved around football. Football is still important, but I've realized there are other things more important. For example, Jenny and I were always close, but now we're even closer. I take time every day to talk to her on the phone. I leave home (for work) later in the morning and help the kids with homework, that kind of thing."

He also took time off from coaching to take Jenny to college and help her move in. And on the drive to - and back - from San Diego, Jon Mack made sure he took breaks to get out and stretch his legs.