Reed Huegel is thankful for the work of Darren Schneider, MD and his staff at UCSF
Listen to your body...then talk to a medical expert.
At age 58, Reed Huegel started having difficulty walking.
“At first, I would experience a burning pain behind my knee,” says Huegel, an otherwise active, productive, seemingly healthy entrepreneur. “Then, I started getting painful cramps. At one point it got so bad, I could only walk about 25 yards before I’d have to stop, and I mean stop – maybe for 10 minutes - until the cramping subsided.”
After several unsatisfactory medical workups and evaluations, Huegel met with University of California, San Francisco vascular surgeon Dr. Darren Schneider who quickly diagnosed Reed’s problem. Reed had a popliteal aneurysm*, the most common type of leg aneurysm, a ballooning of the popliteal artery that is located behind the knee.
In Reed’s case, a blood clot had formed in the bulging artery, restricting blood flow so severely that, if not treated, could have resulted in the loss of his leg. Fortunately, bypass surgery**, restored blood flow to the leg and within a few days Reed was up and walking pain free. “It feels great to have my leg back!” he exclaimed.
What did Reed learn from this experience?
First, you are your own health advocate. “Nobody is going to take better care of you than you,” states Reed. “If you’re not feeling well, find out why. When I discovered what was causing my problem, I read all that I could about it to make me an informed patient.”
Second, know your family medical history. Vascular disease is often genetically linked and runs in families. “My mother had vascular disease in her legs, but I never knew it until I described my problem to her,” says Reed.
Finally, get to the best medical experts. Reed and his wife, Josephine, have nothing but praise for Dr. Schneider and the staff at UCSF. “Dr. Schneider was so thorough and willing to work with me. He even sent me a detailed plan for my treatment. And the staff kept my wife constantly informed. We learned a lot from this experience.”
“The care was absolutely superior, both from Dr. Schneider and the UCSF staff. It’s amazing. Though the facility is in a fairly large city, it almost had the feel of a small town hospital. I don’t know where they find these people but the staff was just remarkably professional and, most importantly when you have a medical problem, caring, kind and efficient.”
“Aside from the day I was born I had never spent a night in the hospital. Both my wife and I have the utmost respect and thanks to Dr. Schneider and his staff for the successful outcome from this major surgery. I cannot recommend him too highly.”
Darren Schneider, MD, a vascular surgeon and medical professor at UCSF, is currently researching minimally invasive procedures that may eliminate the need for bypass surgery. To make a tax-exempt donation to help Dr. Schneider and research team at LAVR, click here.
* An aneurysm is a ballooning of the artery caused by a weakening of the artery wall.
** During a bypass, a new pathway for blood flow is created using a graft. A graft is a portion of an actual vein from your body or a man-made synthetic tube that the surgeon connects above and below a blockage to allow blood to pass around it.
