I was an active 40-year-old woman. I ran every day and had three sons who were keeping me busy.
I had noticed for over a month that I would have calf pain during my daily runs. Since I only had pain while running, I figured it was related to exercise and gave it little thought.
As a fourth grade teacher, back to school rolled around, and during the very first week of school, I started to notice a subtle pain in my left rib area. Again, I didn’t give this much thought at all. Back to school is a super busy time as a teacher and a mom, so I hadn’t even mentioned this nagging pain to anybody.
After about four or five days of rib pain, I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like I couldn’t breathe. Every inhale and exhale was now a stabbing pain. In addition, I had a low-grade fever and shortness of breath when I went up and down stairs.
Something was obviously wrong, but I was healthy and active, so a pulmonary embolism was not on my mind. I started at an urgent care clinic where they did an X-ray to take a look at my ribs. Although my ribs were fine, the X-ray revealed fluid around my lung.
I am so thankful that the urgent care doctor, out of an abundance of caution, sent me straight to the hospital for a CT scan that revealed that the symptoms I was having were actually from a pulmonary embolism.
That calf pain I was feeling for a couple of months prior was a DVT. I am now a year out from this experience and am back to being active and enjoying life with my family.
Doctors considered all risk factors, and I didn’t have any. All blood tests were negative for any clotting disorders. Doctors determined that my pulmonary embolism was unprovoked. For a few reasons, I will be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I am so fortunate that my story turned out the way it did.
Before this, I did not know anyone else who had DVT or PE. Recovery was very lonely at first and I found myself visiting the Stop the Clot website frequently. Reading the stories of other people helped me to know I wasn’t alone and to learn that a lot of what I was feeling was normal.
My advice to others is to pay attention to what your body is telling you. Don’t be shy to reach out to professionals if something does not feel right!
Resources
How is a PE Diagnosed?
How is a DVT Diagnosed?
Blood Clot Resource Center
