Dan Kraft has been on his feet most of his life. The owner of Butcher Block Meats in Mandan, North Dakota, stands all day at work, and when he’s back at home he pretty much stays upright until it’s time for bed.
Kraft’s car collection
About three years ago, Kraft had varicose veins removed from his legs at Sanford Health in Bismarck. Now he’s enjoying every free moment he has working on some pretty labor-intensive hobbies.
“Lot of yard work to do, which I still enjoy. Decorate the yard starting in September. And I’ve been into Mustangs and Shelbys since high school,” said Kraft.
Kraft owns 35 classic cars, and he stores them all in garages on his property just north of town. Most are his favorite color, Grabber Green, while many others are different shades of green or Grabber Blue.
“Green was my favorite color growing up, and one of my first Mustangs was called Grabber Green. And I did some research and found it’s a very rare color, so I pursued getting more of that color Mustang and Shelby. So that’s how it started,” Kraft said.
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Photo by Jason Anschutz, Sanford Health
Kraft now believes he owns the largest collection of Grabber Green cars in the world. Yet only some lucky locals ever get to see them on the road.
“I only bring the cars out for Buggies-n-Blues in Mandan on Main Street. It’s always the second weekend of June. Other than that, I might take one or two to a local car show, but they only come out once a year and everybody kind of waits for that to come and see them,” Kraft said.
Varicose vein treatments
Kraft is able to work on his cars, and do all of his yard work and other hobbies, in part because he no longer has to worry about his legs feeling heavy after a full day of work. Natalie Crawford, M.D., is an interventional radiologist at Sanford Bismarck, and she says most varicose vein patients can get similar relief after surgery.
“If you have aching in your legs, if your veins are kind of bulging and unsightly, if they cause itching, where your legs are bothersome at night, or just by the end of the day they feel heavy or swollen, those are reasons that people would seek out varicose vein treatment,” said Dr. Crawford.
“We can reverse those symptoms and get them back to doing their hobbies that they love. Get them back on the boat, get them mowing their lawn without their legs hurting. And overall people feel really good after these procedures.”
Varicose veins can be treated a few different ways. Laser ablation can close down incompetent veins. Similarly, sclerotherapy injections can be used to collapse veins. And finally, phlebectomy can be used to remove varicose veins through small incisions. Because varicose veins are already failing, removing them does not negatively affect circulation. Instead, it allows blood to flow more freely through the body.
“The analogy I use frequently is the interstate versus the back roads. When your body starts using back roads, it takes a lot longer to get there. The roads aren’t paved very well. We get rid of some of those back roads and try to push the blood more toward the interstate or the easy way,” Dr. Crawford said.
What better analogy could there be for Dan Kraft? He lives his life full throttle. And now, more than three years after surgery, he says he often forgets he ever had his varicose veins removed.
“I don’t even think about them,” Kraft said. “Not at all. There’s no pain or anything. I can be on my feet all day. They might get tired but not painful.”
Whether he’s working at the butcher shop, or his car shop, Kraft stands tall, thanks in large part to his varicose vein treatment.
Learn more
- Sanford helps patient clear varicose veins 3 ways
- Vascular disease may lurk behind varicose veins, dizziness
- Varicose veins: What are they? How are they treated?
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