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 a new doctor that he was referred to, and the doctor ran some bloodwork. It took a couple of weeks for it to come back, then the doctor referred him to a vascular doctor. His appointment was scheduled for several weeks out.
Nick called the doctor’s office several times to see if his labs had come back. Each time he called he got no answers. In the meantime, the doctor prescribed my son rivaroxaban, an anticoagulant. He was not contacted about the medication — the pharmacy just called to tell him he had a prescription to pick up.
When his wife went to pick it up, she called him to ask if he knew what the meds were for. He said no and asked her not to pick it up until he found out what it was.
One of the times he called the office, they told him to call the vascular doctor and ask about the labs and the meds, so he did. They informed him that they couldn’t tell him anything since he had not been seen in their office, nor did they order the labs or prescribe the meds.
My son asked that his lab results be emailed since they refused to talk to him about them. I read the labs and saw he had factor V Leiden, but we had no clue what that was.
On Thanksgiving Day 2020, Nick and his family came for dinner, and he kept saying his leg hurt. They left early. That evening, he went to take a shower, and while in the shower he yelled for his wife and told her something was wrong. He collapsed.
She managed to get him out of the shower and called 9-1-1. I received a call to get to their house. When we pulled up, they had loaded him in the ambulance, and we went straight to the hospital. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive.
Nick was such a ray of sunshine. He was always smiling, and he had such a zest for life. He loved big and forever. He never met a stranger. We had no idea until he passed how loved he was. We heard from so many people who knew him from all over.
Nick received his college degree in forestry but ended up becoming a farmer. That was his passion. He was just getting started with his own farm and equipment.
He loved his wife and daughter. His daughter was his life. She was only 2.5 when we lost him, so she only had vague memories of him. Thank goodness for our phones for memories.
Since losing Nick, we have become advocates for awareness. We host a 5K every October for World Thrombosis Day in my son’s honor.
My advice is to know the signs. Ask the questions at your doctor’s appointment. Don’t let them push you off. If they do, find another one immediately. Don’t be a statistic.
