fbpx

I Almost Left the ER: Lucy’s Story

I Almost Left the ER: Lucy’s Story

In October 2020 at age 28, I woke up at 5 a.m. with back pain. It felt like I pulled a muscle. Throughout the day, the pain got worse. It hurt to sit or lie down.

By the next morning, I was vomiting from pain and decided to drive myself to the emergency room. The triage nurse asked if I could have picked something up the wrong way. I had two toddlers at home, so this was plausible. I felt like I shouldn’t have been there and almost left.

When I was called back, there was a trauma patient in the bay next to me. Again, I felt like I shouldn’t have been there, especially since it was during the height of the Covid pandemic. I decided to stay.

I was nine weeks pregnant at the time and they wanted a urine test to confirm. I am so thankful for the doctor who watched me walk to the bathroom. She noticed how out of breath I was. I was so focused on the pain that I didn’t realize I couldn’t breathe.

The doctor determined a CT was necessary, even though I was pregnant. I agreed the risk was worth it. She held my hand while telling me I had a blood clot in my lung. I was hospitalized for three days.

While I was there, my dad remembered my late grandmother had factor V Leiden. I mentioned this to the physician’s assistant who was overseeing my care and she brushed me off saying, “You would already know if you had FVL.”

After I was discharged, I followed up with my OB/GYN. who tested me. I tested positive for FVL and have the factor II mutation.

I made my parents get tested. Both of them have clotting disorders. I now know I got FVL from my dad and factor II from my mom.

After 420 enoxaparin sodium injections, I gave birth to my son via scheduled C-section at 38 weeks. He was born healthy and is now a wild three-year-old. I am on apixaban for life. My family is now more aware of our risk factors. I am so thankful for the ER doctor’s quick action and for not brushing me off.

Resources

Factor V Leiden
Factor II
Pregnancy

Share your story
The personal story is intended for informational purposes only. The National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA) holds the rights to all content that appears on its website. The use by another organization or online group of any content on NBCA’s website, including patient stories that appear here, does not imply that NBCA is connected to these other organizations or groups or condones or endorses their work. Please contact info@stoptheclot.org with questions about this matter.

Additional patient stories

148D1DC0-AD2A-4D06-9662-B7CFB2735153

survivors-birthday

image0000002