I had first had phlebitis as a college student. Since then, my feet had often swelled, so that it was not new or alarming to me when, during pregnancy, my feet and legs began to swell. I stayed off my feet as much as possible, but by the next evening, my left leg was visibly larger than the right. The color was a delicate shade of purple. A mild aching pain began in the groin and extended to the left hip. My first reaction was to go immediately to the military hospital where I was receiving prenatal care. My second reaction was instantaneous. "It's 9 P.M. on a Friday night," I rationalized. "Go to bed and elevate the leg." "It's just a phlebitis," I told my husband. "It would be treated with