Lindsay Mulshine
A Meaningful Mother’s Day
Give the gift of life this Mother’s Day and every day.
My name is Lindsay Mulshine. The day I became a mother was the best day of my life. But I had no idea that the worst days of my life would soon follow…
I had a 4-week-old son and was just learning how to be a new mom when I awoke with excruciating pain and swelling in my left leg. This was not the first indication that something was wrong but this time it was different… The pain had become unbearable.
I sat helplessly in the passenger seat as my husband loaded our newborn son into his car seat and frantically raced me to the nearest emergency room.
After a few scans, an ER doctor rushed in exclaiming, “You have a massive blood clot stretching all the way from your groin to your ankle!” I was immediately admitted to the ICU where they began administering emergency blood thinning medication.
How could this be happening? Sure, I had been experiencing leg pain since the day my son was born, but I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and no clots were found. Fearing the worst, my husband was forced to make the difficult decision to send our 4-week-old son home in the care of a friend so that he could stay by my side.
Luckily, the medication was effective and the clot eventually began to dissolve. I couldn’t wait to get home to our son and back to focusing on being a new mom. But instead, a lengthy recovery followed, with extreme pain and difficulty walking. It was over a month before I was finally able to start caring for baby Jack on my own.
This experience taught me several important facts…
- If the ultrasound tech is not extremely careful, clots can be missed as they are moving.
- C-sections and limited mobility during recovery increase your risk of clots.
- My son and I both have two genetic disorders, Factor V Leiden and Prothrombin G.
I support NBCA to help educate others, especially women, about the risks, signs, and symptoms of blood clots so if this happens to them, they know what to do. My sister recently developed a blood clot – but since she knew the signs, she knew to get to the hospital immediately. This awareness absolutely saved her life.
Give the gift of life by supporting NBCA’s For Every Day in May campaign and help us reach our goal of raising one dollar for each life lost this month due to blood clots. All gifts made towards this goal before May 31 at midnight will be matched 2:1 and TRIPLE the impact of your donation.
With sincere gratitude,
Lindsay Mulshine
