Perhaps some background is in order. I've been dealing with severe edema in both legs - specifically in the lower calf region - for the past ten years. It's uncomfortable as all hell, and it brings a whole host of other health problems (not limited to ulcers, infections, and other pleasant little surprises), but the main thing is that it's slowly turning my legs purple. Compression wraps alleviate this to a slight degree, when I'm able to use them, but that isn't anything like as often as it needs to be.

My GP is setting up an appointment to see a vascular surgeon sometime in the next month, to see if there's any hope of getting through this without cutting off inconveniently large bits. I... have to say I'm not terribly hopeful, all things considered. It's been that kind of decade.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. My father's dealing with kidney failure, barely functional lungs (courtesy of a chemical spill where he used to work), and malignant skin cancer on several areas of his body. I don't know exactly which deity we pissed off, but I wish they'd let us know so we could try to make amends.