Patient Stories

It was 6 p.m. on a cold Wednesday night in February 2014. My legs were dangling from the patient table as I sat anxiously at an urgent care facility waiting for the doctor to come in. My right calf had continued to swell and throb over the last several days, to the point where I…

In 2016, life was normal. I was balancing a full-time desk job, motherhood, and the excitement of a second pregnancy. However, around 32 weeks into my pregnancy, things started to take a turn for the worse when I developed pain in my left hip. Worried, I went to the doctor, who, without fully examining me,…

I was the most fit I had ever been when I had my deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary emboli (PE) at 28 years old. I ran marathons, competed in triathlons, and had just recently completed my first 100-mile bike race. After my bike race, I was struggling to recover. My legs felt heavy. My…

I was diagnosed with the genetic clotting disorder factor V Leiden when I was 15 years old. My aunty (my dad’s sister) had a blood clot during pregnancy and she learned she had FVL, which led to members of my family, including me, being tested for it too. While growing up, FVL never had any…

My name is Tim. I was born, raised, and still live in Salem, Arkansas. Salem is a small town with many people raising cattle. My dad always had a few heads of cattle and, growing up, I would get on calves trying to ride them. I grew older and started getting on young bulls until…

Can you be too young to experience blood clots? At 22 years old, I wasn’t, and neither are you! I have heard “you are too young” at every medical provider’s office, but blood clots do not discriminate. Trust me, because I’m a two-time survivor of pulmonary emboli, also known as PEs or blood clots in…

My name is Frank. Until recently, I had no idea what a pulmonary embolism (PE) was. I quickly found out, though, on July 1, 2020, when one tragically claimed the life of my wife Amy. Amy and I were together since 2001, and we were married in 2004. We have five beautiful children together. Most…

My name is Michele. I am a healthcare worker, mother, and recent survivor of venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the veins, which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism). I am sharing my story to raise awareness, both on a general level as well as from the perspective of a healthcare worker. In January 2020,…

My story begins in February of this year when I felt a sharp, intense pain in my ribs. Assuming it was a pulled muscle from a workout the day before, I didn’t think anything of it. But by 4 a.m., the pain woke me up. I called the non-emergency services here in the United Kingdom,…

My name is Amber, and I am the mother of two children, a runner, and a nursing assistant. I lead a fairly active lifestyle. In August of 2019, I started birth control. I had previously been on birth control for several years before having my children, so I thought nothing of it when my doctor…