Patient Stories
An Article About Serena Williams May Have Saved My Life: Nisheera’s Story
I had my youngest son on December 26, 2019 via C-section. Recovery at home wasn’t too bad outside of the normal pain from having a baby. But at about a month postpartum, I began to have chest pain and found it hard to do simple tasks. I ignored the pain and convinced myself it was…
Don’t Ignore Calf Pain or Shortness of Breath: Scott’s Story
My dad had deep vein thrombosis (DVT) many years ago and was diagnosed with factor V Leiden. Because of this, I was tested and found to have inherited this mutation as well. Thanks, Dad. In 2019, my calf was swollen and painful. The doctor sent me to get an ultrasound. It was a DVT. After…
Ignoring Unusual Symptoms Could Have Serious Ramifications: Dan’s Story
In the summer of 2019, I was on vacation with my family at Hilton Head Island. On the second night of the trip, I felt an excruciating pain in my chest while lying in bed. Although it was troubling, I decided not to wake my wife or take other action, and the pain passed after…
The Hospital Was Baffled By My Symptoms: Tyler’s Story
In 2018, when I was 21 years old and just over three months postpartum, I was diagnosed with multiple pulmonary emboli (PE). I started having trouble breathing in the early evening which I assumed was just my asthma acting up. This continued all through the night and into the morning. I was using my asthma…
Recovery Has Been a Long Road: Jessica’s Story
I had COVID for the first time in November of 2020. My symptoms were typical: fatigue, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath. Once I recovered, I had ongoing yet mild shortness of breath, so when it started happening more frequently, I wrote it off as just a symptom of long COVID. Looking back, I…
The Perfect Storm of Travel, Birth Control, and COVID: Claire’s Story
After a business trip to France followed by a week of mild COVID symptoms, I was eager to get back into my routine. That is, until I started feeling a strange pain in my leg about three weeks later. I’d recently had a dermatological procedure on that leg, so I thought my stitches might be…
I Started Losing My Vision: Lydia’s Story
June 2021 was the month my life was flipped upside down. I started experiencing intense pressure in my head and a sharp pain in my neck and shoulder that radiated down my arm. I visited my primary care doctor and an urgent care center, where I was prescribed muscle relaxers, a steroid, and was set…
My Daughter is Afraid I Won’t Come Home From My Appointments: Kate’s Story
In March 2022, while going about my everyday activities, I suddenly experienced extreme breathlessness. It felt like someone had hit me, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I’m a single parent, and my then –7-year-old found me on the bed. There was no ambulance available to get to me; I was told…
I’m in Constant Fear for My Safety Due to the Blood Thinners: Julia’s Story
In December of 2022, I had surgery on my femur. Five days later, I felt an excruciating pain in my calf and knew something was wrong. I went to the ER and was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that occluded almost my whole leg. I was prescribed blood thinners and I’ve been taking them…
The Last Thing I Remember Was Trying to Say, ‘Help me:’ Heather’s Story
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…
