Patient Stories

When I was 23, no one knew of my genetics. My parents adopted me, and I had no medical history. For the most part, I had a healthy childhood. I had my fair share of broken bones, all in my arms and hands, from various sports. But I never had any complications, besides some lingering…

I am a healthy 23 year old who exercises 6 times a week, eats healthy food, and has never smoked. After returning from nearly a year overseas, I decided to change my lifestyle and lost nearly 20 kg (44 pounds) in the past 5 months. During this period I became really in tune with my…

Hello my name is Elizabeth. I have a 15 year-old son named Ryu. This is my son’s story. In October of 2012, I noticed my son’s leg was changing color. His leg looked purple. I wasn’t sure why. I took him into an Urgent Care Center, where I told the doctor that it looked like he had a blood…

My advice to others: If you feel pain in the calf of your leg, have it checked out as soon as you can. Pulmonary Embolism was not in my vocabulary prior to June 10, 2006. That’s the day I got a dull pain in my left calf immediately after a private music show near Washington,…

I was 25 years old in January 2011, and I knew nothing about blood clots.  Several months prior to that January I felt a mild, irritating pain in my right side.  It occurred mainly when I was laying down too long, hiccupping, or when my breathing was heavy. I went to my doctor; she ordered…

  My name is Tanya Warwick, MD. I am a Vascular Neurologist – a doctor who evaluates, treats and studies diseases that affect the structure and function of the blood vessels supplying the brain, such as strokes – at the University of California San Francisco/Fresno. I am also a patient who had a pelvic DVT…

  This is my Dad’s story. His name was David Smith. My Dad died of a pulmonary embolism (lung clot) on October 24, 2012. He was only 63 years old. His sudden death has devastated our family and left us wishing we had been aware of the signs of pulmonary embolism (PE) and able to…

  I want to share my story. My mom helped me write this: My name is Julian Adams, I’m 5 years old. I live in Belgium. When I was (exactly) 1 year old, I developed a blood clot in my leg, as a result of the chicken pox. I was very sick and I was…

  My life changed drastically on November 15, 2012. I was diagnosed with an Acute Pulmonary Embolism (blood clot in the lung) in my right lung. I remember the day before. I was walking from my college class to my car and running out of breath. This was unusual for me because I was always…

  My name is Samantha and I am 20 years old. On April 12th, 2013 I walked into the emergency room (ER) thinking I had appendicitis. A week prior my 6’2″ friend sat on my back for while I played cards on the floor. Since then, I was having symptoms like nausea and an extreme…