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Patient Stories

Everyone Told Me to ‘Eat a Banana and Shake it Off’: Vanessa’s Story

I was standing at the car wash waiting for my car when I experienced an extreme charley horse in my left calf. The pain was so intense that it knocked the wind right out of me. For five days, I pushed through the pain, continuing to go to work, massaging my leg, and putting cold…

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I Was Fortunate to Have Survived This: Joe’s Story

In June 2017, I noticed a pain in my left calf. I had been walking several days a week, so I thought I may have pulled a muscle. I spent time trying to stretch it out over the next week, but it persistently got worse.    The pain I had been having in my calf then…

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The Medical Profession has a Long Way to Go: Joel’s Story

I’ve always been an active person, regularly hiking 40 miles a week. When I had extreme calf pain in 2011 at 54 years old, I went to ER and was diagnosed with an unprovoked deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and was prescribed warfarin for six months. They did not know what caused the DVT and did…

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Recognize the Signs of Blood Clots and Act Quickly: Patrick’s Story

It was the day after Thanksgiving last year and I was doing yardwork. I had been having breathing issues and was feeling lightheaded and tired over the past day or so. But I dismissed it as being due to the holidays and a busy work schedule.    Around 3 p.m., as I walked up a set…

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Medicate and Live Life: Paul’s Story

In 2016, while on duty as a firefighter, I experienced pain behind my knee and swelling in my right leg. A couple of weeks earlier, while playing with my children, I also experienced what I could only describe as a “shaken fizzy can opening feeling” in my chest that went after a minute or two.  …

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Blood Clots are More Common Than People Realize: Hector’s Story

I have always been physically active, but I had slowed down as our family grew. I was smack in the middle of getting back into steadily working out when, after a 10-mile morning bike ride, I started experiencing pain in my left leg.    The pain started on a Friday morning and intensified over the weekend,…

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A Blood Clot is Nothing to Mess Around With: Marshall’s Story

Last July, I was told I have factor V Leiden. I was unfamiliar with this, but my doctor said I didn’t need to do or take anything for it, so went about my life.   Less than a year later, I was having a lot of pain in my left leg and thought maybe I had…

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I Felt Like I Was Drowning: Pete’s Story

I had been feeling bad for more than six weeks, experiencing shortness of breath while doing light exercise, like walking up a flight or two of stairs. I had gone from being able to run 8+ minute miles comfortably to struggling to walk at a normal pace in a matter of weeks. My resting heart…

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I Mistook My Symptoms as a Panic Attack: Jillian’s Story

In December 2021, I was climbing up the subway stairs, heading to my college campus in New York City, when I started feeling off-balanced and dizzy.  I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, so that’s what I thought was happening. I sat down and a nice family came over to me and asked if I…

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The ICU Staff Called Me ‘Miracle Man:’ Ted’s Story

I became committed to staying healthy in my late 40s. At 55, I was in the best shape of my life, hitting the gym three times a week.  One day after exercising, I felt a pain in my left calf, which I attributed to an overzealous workout. However, it continued through Christmas weekend. I planned…

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