“markets are a conversation” from the groundbreaking book the cluetrain manifesto, is currently under doctor’s care. he says that hes ok, but you should still probably keep him in your prayers for a week or so.

here’s an email he sent to me and a few others this weekend that id like to share with you.

subject: A little pulmonary embolism

Hi.

Ya’ll are on a loose list of folks I am guessing hasn’t read my blog, or heard through the grapevine that last week I went to the hospital with what felt to me like muscle cramps in my rib cage, but turned out to be a pulmonary embolism, better known as a blood clot, in my right lung. I’m on blood thinners now, and will go in for more examinations this next week. The Wife was in Paris on a vacation that was to continue in Munich this next weekend when The Kid and I were scheduled to meet her (in time for me to do a bunch of work-related stuff at conferences), has returned home to hold down the fort and keep things sane as we get my ass stabilized (that is, with blood sufficiently and consistently thinned), so if I croak it will have to be from something that doesn’t involve clotting. This is a Good Thing.

I may still go to Munich, by the way. That’s the plan, although it’s a bit of a long shot. It depends on whether my clotting resistance is consistently low.

Mysteries at this point are 1) whether I have the same clotting disease my cousins have, called Factor V Leiden (which is treated with the anti-clotting medicine I am already taking); and 2) where the clot came from. We await tests on the first item and may never know the answer to the second. Sonograms of my neck and legs show clear veins. An echo-cardiogram of my heart looks excellent, as does my EKG. My heart, in fact, appears to be very healthy (consistent with tests done several months ago in Santa Barbara after a similar scare that turned out to be a false alarm.) So does pulse (62) and blood pressure (120/70).

The “PE,” as they call it, appears clearly on a CAT scan, as do a few tiny “nodules” that are probably nothing, but require that I get re-CATted in 3 months. Since I have never been a smoker, the doctors are not concerned, but they still want to monitor things, which is good.

Since the most likely source of the clot was my legs, excessive sitting (at my desk and in airplanes) is the leading suspect, in terms of lifestyle. So I have already taken to walking and riding the new bike I bought today. The Wife bought one too. We plan to become a more physically active family.

Other good news is that we are being treated by the greater Harvard medical system, which means things like getting this guy for my hematologist.

This is also the first time I’ve encountered a health care system that pushes me much harder than I push it. I get concerned calls several times a day from truly interested and caring professionals at University Health Services, from the Law School Clinic (where I showed up with my chest pains), and elsewhere.

We just got on that plan a few weeks ago. Much better than having to deal with California minimum self-employed Blue Cross, here in MA.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be fine, even if I now fear sitting down, which in the long run (say, more than a week) is a career-limiting attitude.

So I’ll soon be getting a stand-up desk and a much better chair for my sit-down desk.

Anyway, that’s the news. Love to all,

Doc/Dave/David

here are some posts that Doc wrote over the last week regarding the deal at hand

you might remember doc searls from such busblog posts as

– Live From the Blogosphere, Ev Williams announces Blogger being Sold to Google
– Doc at SXSW 2006 with Dooce, her husband, and Henry Copeland of BlogAds
– Doc calls me “the best blogger ever”