I am a 24-year-old old active and healthy woman. No real elevated risk factors for clots.
I never thought it would be me. I had underwent an ablation, minimally invasive procedure to treat supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is an abnormally fast heart rate originating in the upper chambers of the heart (atria). They said that my SVT heart ablation had a 95% success rate and a 1-2% complication rate.
I went home from the hospital happy as could be, excited to recover and be back to my normal life in a few quick days. Well, a few days went by, and I had pain in my groin area, making it difficult to walk. I called my surgeon’s office and I tried to explain my symptoms, but they talked over me and interrupted me. They said that it was probably just sore from surgery and that I was fine. My procedure went in through my groin, so I pushed it off as just being sore from surgery.
A day later, I noticed my left leg was slightly swollen and off color. It was so slight that I almost just told myself I was imagining it. My friends are nurses, so I let them look at it and they told me I should go get it checked, just to be safe. I ended up in the ER and they did in fact find three blood clots in my left leg.
I got on blood thinners and returned home, scared out of my mind. I went to my primary doctor the next day and got more testing done. They found another clot in my right leg, but luckily, no pulmonary emboli.
It has been a few weeks and I can walk around better and I am more optimistic, but this experience has changed my life. I now educate all of my friends and family about the signs and symptoms of blood clots and encourage them to get it checked out.
This has changed my whole life and how I think about life. It could change at any moment. I try to get up and walk a lot more than I used to. I am also dealing with medical trauma and needing therapy to get through it.
NBCA has been incredibly helpful with my diagnosis and recovery. Sometimes, the statistics they share are scary. Knowing that I lived through something that so many people didn’t is a sobering thought. But hearing other survivor stories has helped me tremendously.
My advice is to listen to your body. Stand up for yourself against medical professionals. And if you think you have a clot, get it checked out immediately. I promise the medical bills are worth your life. Also, blood clots don’t discriminate. You might not be at “high-risk” for clots, but neither was I. Stay alert.
Resources
Know Your Risk
Surgery and Hospitalization
Psychological Impact of Blood Clots
