Patient Stories

My blood clot story started at a time that should’ve been the happiest of our lives — we had just become a family of four! A few days after giving birth to our second child, I developed a severe headache.   Unfortunately, at the ER, I was misdiagnosed and treated for post-partum pre-eclampsia. After a few…

I was diagnosed with COVID in February of 2020 and had severe symptoms, including extremely painful breathing.   I developed an internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJVT)  in my neck during the initial COVID-19 infection. I had symptoms from the IJVT for two years, but it wasn’t discovered until I had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which…

In November of 2021, I had COVID and was down and out for two weeks. As I was starting to feel better, pain began developing in my left leg. At first, I thought I was dehydrated or lacking protein.    Two days went by. My left leg was twice the size of my right leg, and…

My cousin, who was 22, died of a pulmonary embolism when I was 10 years old. At autopsy, she was found to have protein C resistance, explained by the factor V Leiden mutation. As this mutation is genetic, the whole family was tested. I was found to be a carrier of this mutation, and I…

I had a pulmonary embolism in the fall of 2016. I was just 24 years old and was an avid runner/marathoner. I had completed about 10 marathons, including the iconic Boston Marathon.   At the time, I didn’t really know what a blood clot was, and I completely missed the signs of a blood clot…

I have always been a relatively active person, and I participated in kickboxing and powerlifting.   It was 2020 and I was one month away from my 30th birthday, doing jump squats in my living room due gyms closed by COVID. I felt a pain in my left hip and thought I pulled a muscle.   …

My name is Katie, and I am Jordan’s widow. He and I were married for 12 years. Jordan died unexpectedly of a massive pulmonary embolism (PE) on July 8, 2020.   He survived his first unprovoked deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to PE in October 2019. He ignored symptoms of right thigh pain, swelling, redness, and warmth.…

When I was eight months pregnant, my grandmother passed away. My blood pressure began to spike, and I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension.     I ended up being induced at 37 weeks in order to keep the baby safe. The night I delivered my daughter, my dad went into cardiac arrest. He passed away a week…

It started in 2013 with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my right leg and a pulmonary embolism (PE). After walking around on a sore and swollen leg for a while, I experienced severe shortness of breath after climbing two flights of stairs.    My brother took me to the hospital, where I was treated and placed…

My first issue with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) began in November of 2022. My family and I went on a five-hour road trip to Disneyland. A week after returning home, I began to develop a charley horse cramp in my right calf.    I assumed I had pulled a muscle somehow. I tried massage and…