At 29, I considered myself to be fit and almost indestructible. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and I have a myriad of athletic accomplishments. I’ve run multiple marathons, I’m at a healthy weight, and I train in the gym regularly.
All of the above left me feeling completely lost when I started to experience a pain in my chest and shortness of breath. I reduced training and went to my doctor, who initially diagnosed me with a pulled muscle in my back.
I told my doctor it wasn’t a pulled muscle because I knew what that felt like. Also, my heart rate was elevated beyond the normal range (45 BPM up to 70).
A week passed and my sleep began to worsen. I coughed up blood and couldn’t breathe if I turned my head to the right. I decided to call the emergency line and was rushed to the hospital once they asked about my family history of clots. (My mother has factor V Leiden).
I had two bilateral pulmonary emboli in my left and right lungs. I then developed a third not long after sitting in a car for hours. The hit to my physical and mental health was devastating. People struggled to comprehend how I, the young fitness guy, could get so unwell so quickly and how it could be from something like being seated for too long.
Like my mother, I was also diagnosed with factor V Leiden. It’s an ongoing battle within myself to keep well, manage this life condition, and try my best to return to doing the things I once loved.
Resources
