Ever since Shirley's transplant she has received thrice-daily shots of Heparin, a blood thinner intended to reduce the chance of a stroke-inducing clot from forming. And like virtually every other drug she is taking, there is an unfortunate side effect. In this case, it's not really a side-effect as much as just an "effect".
After all, since it is a blood thinner, what would you expect to happen when you inject it? You get a gold star if you guessed bleeding and bruising. And the recommended place to get a Heparin shot is in your belly. For the first few weeks, Shirley's belly looked like polka dots of bruising--each about the diameter of a dime. But as time went on, the nurses ran out of un-bruised spots and her stomach became a single bruise.
Do the math: 66 days in the hospital x 3 shots a day = lots of dime-sized bruises.
But yesterday, she asked the question "how long do I have to get these shots?" and the answer was, until she was walking at least 200 feet per day. Well, as luck would have it, she had been doing that for a few days, so the doctors ordered an end to the heparin.
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