Patient Stories

It started on a Tuesday with mild lower back pain. I assumed that I’d strained something somehow. By Wednesday, the pain was slightly worse, and I felt weak, short of breath, and dizzy when standing—something definitely wasn’t right. By Friday, the pain spread to my left groin and down my left thigh. I convinced myself…

On May 6, 2024, I was admitted to the hospital to give birth to my little rainbow baby. I had planned a natural birth, but complications meant an emergency C-section. I was terrified and unprepared. Surgery went well, but hours later I developed a severe headache. My doctors said it could be spinal leakage. I…

I had suffered with a sore knee for quite some time and eventually ended up needing keyhole surgery on it. I was on the combined pill at the time and was not told of any clotting risk factors before my surgery. The operation was successful, and I went home with crutches, thinking that my knee…

My story began in late 2018. I was on oral birth control for a few weeks in October 2018 and stopped as it caused mental health symptoms. A short time later, I experienced sudden increases in heart rate every time I got up to move, and progressed to sudden shortness of breath and a feeling…

As told by her sister, Heather. I experienced a blood clot. I survived. My sister didn’t. Around Thanksgiving of 2020, my 18-year-old sister Faith began complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, and then she passed out at work. Over the next three days, my parents took her to the doctor three times, where…

In January 2022, at 27 years old, I checked in to the hospital and was treated for a superficial clot in my right leg, along with a minor case of cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection. Over the next few months, the pains in my leg continued to the point where I could no longer walk.…

As told by his mother, Amy My son Nickolas first developed superficial blood clots after fracturing his leg in 2019. He took baby aspirin and had no issues after his leg was healed until the fall of 2020 when he developed the blood clots again. He had no trauma to cause them. He went to…

I wrapped my leg around a chair while walking by it on January 16, 2025 and fell. My right leg immediately bruised and swelled, so I went to the emergency room. X-rays showed a contusion to the bone. My leg was bandaged and I was sent on my way. As time wore on, my leg…

On January 13, 2025, I was diagnosed with an unprovoked pulmonary embolism lodged in the main artery on the right side of my lung, blocking and restricting blood flow. I also have right-sided heart strain due to the clot. Just before Christmas, my right leg behind my knee became swollen and extremely painful. I have…

Watch a video of Brandon’s story: I had my first blood clot when I was 29. It started as a subtle cramp in my left calf—nothing alarming at first—but it slowly got worse, even with icing and massaging. When I woke up one morning and couldn’t put any weight on it, I knew something was…