If there has been one common denominator we've seen in all of our gown stories it's how chronic pain changes people.
This story is no different. Pain turned a woman who loves to fish and play sports with her grandchildren into a couch potato.
Dale Smith had pain in her legs so bad that she thought the unthinkable.
"I even though about, you know, disability," she said. "I was really thinking, 'Oh, I can't walk, I can't do nothing.'"
But now when she visits the hospital, she makes sure to take off her shoes. In many ways, you'd think she's going through security at an airport, but she's just testing to make sure she's healthy.
Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Yazan Ghosheh said the Ankle-brachial index test helped to find out why Smith had so much pain in her legs.
It was determined she had peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which is a narrowing of the arteries and primarily happens in the legs.
"And when you start walking then the limbs start moving, they ask for more blood and when the arteries narrow it can't supply more blood and that's where the pain comes in," Ghosheh explained.
That arterial disease hit Smith hard, who likes to play sports with her 13 grandchildren.
In order to fix her problem, Dr. Ghosheh crunched the numbers and a procedure was done that meant staying still for seven hours.
But before we celebrate Smith's happy ending, we must tell you that PAD is widespread. One of out every eight adults above 60 may suffer from some type of arterial disease.
"Take off your shoes and socks whenever you go see your primary care physician," Ghosheh said. "This way they can examine your pulses. Look for unhealing [sic] ulcers and there are early signs which can detect peripheral arterial disease."
Doctors have stressed that this condition is one that most patients don't know they have, but one tell tale sign is increasing pain in the legs just after a short walk.
Below are some other signs and symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic:
- A coldness in your foot or leg
- Sores that don't seem to heal
- Legs may change in color
- Toenail growth is slower than normal
- Your skin may be shiny
- Erectile dysfunction