For more than 22 years, Dawn Morris was on her feet serving and preparing lunches for students at Basehol-Lynnwood Middle School. So when she started feeling pain in her feet, she thought her age and years of standing on concrete were catching up to her.

“It felt like someone was putting a vice grip on my calf,” Morris said. “The pain got so bad that I would wake up in the middle of the night with cramps. Nothing I did could ease the pain.”

Morris was determined to continue enjoying his retirement and not let the pain stop him from doing the things he loved, like traveling. She adjusted the way she went about her daily life by taking breaks as often as possible.

But “the pain just got worse,” she said. “When I went to Germany last year, I couldn’t walk up the hill in the village. That’s when I said to myself, ‘Something is wrong.'”

A few months after her trip to Germany, she went to New York to visit her family. She began talking to her sister-in-law about the location and type of pain she was experiencing. Her sister-in-law, who had experienced similar pain, told Ms. Morris there might be a problem with her veins.

After returning home, Morris talked to her doctor, who referred her to see a vein specialist.

Morris thought seeing a vein specialist would give her answers and peace of mind. But when her health care worker saw her, she said there was nothing wrong with her veins.

“He showed me how when he pressed on my ankle, instead of going back to its normal color, it stayed white and then slowly the color returned,” Morris said.

She was then referred to Dr. Axel Toles, a surgeon at the University of Kansas Health System who works with Lawrence Vascular Surgery. He explained that her arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood from her heart to various parts of her body, were unable to function properly due to plaque buildup.

“She gave me peripheral artery disease (PAD),” Toles said. “Her calf pain was caused by the lack of blood flow to her calf. It also affected her ability to heal wounds and cuts because the blood could not carry nutrients to the area. was also having an impact.”

Clogged arteries, like PAD, can cause leg pain, swelling, and blood clots. As the disease progresses, the affected wound may not heal, leading to gangrene, and in some cases, amputation may be necessary.

There is no cure for PAD, but lifestyle changes and surgery can resolve symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life.

“In Dawn’s case, even though it was at an advanced stage, we were able to find it and perform surgery to put the artery back together,” Toles said. “The artery in her left leg was 80 percent blocked, but her right leg was only 50 percent blocked.”

The surgery to destroy the plaque is minimally invasive, and Toles also placed a stent in Morris’ pelvic artery to reduce the risk of the blockage recurring.

“The surgery went well,” Morris said. “I was able to walk home the day of surgery. The only restrictions were that I couldn’t lift anything heavy and had to rest.”

Morris will continue to need regular check-ups every six months as he is at risk of developing new blockages in his arteries. However, she said that after her surgery she felt “immediately relieved” and within a week of her surgery, she felt well enough to go shopping for an hour. . She can now also make her upcoming travel plans.

Toles said PAD often goes undiagnosed, especially in older adults with a history of smoking, diabetes or heart disease. In Morris’ case, as a former smoker, she had been complaining of her symptoms for years.

People over the age of 40 with a history of smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, or heart disease are recommended to be screened for PAD using a test called the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Your primary care provider can order this test in addition to your annual physical and wellness exam.

“If you have ongoing leg pain or cramping, get it checked out,” says Morris. “Don’t dismiss it as just a symptom of aging like I did.”

“There is no cure for this disease and it will be with me for the rest of my life, but I am confident that I will still have a wonderful life,” she said. “I feel better and healthier.”

• Kade Han is a social media and digital communications specialist at LMH Health.