Patient Stories
Four DVTs Over the Years: Alejandra’s Story
In 2006, I was 31 years old, living in my home country of Venezuela, and 20 weeks pregnant with my first baby when I felt a pain like a knot in my left upper thigh. My mom suggested I keep my leg up the rest of the day and I could see my gynecologist in…
Advocating For Awareness Has Been Incredibly Rewarding: Dan’s Story
On July 31, 2021, after being misdiagnosed and sent home almost a week prior, I finally received a diagnosis that would forever change my life: sub-massive pulmonary emboli and pulmonary infarction. I call it “the back pain that saved my life.” My primary symptom was upper back tightness and discomfort, which I later learned was…
The Doctor Said a DVT Was Highly Unlikely: Kelly’s Story
One week I was a healthy 24-year-old hiking mountains, the next I was bedridden in a hospital with an unprovoked 20cm DVT. I had an unusual cramping pain in my leg on a Friday night. I took some painkillers and decided to sleep it off. The next morning I felt okay and set off for…
Factor V Leiden Runs In My Family: Abby’s Story
When I was a child, my brother and I were tested for factor V Leiden after my father had a clot that traveled to his lungs (PE) and was diagnosed with the factor V disorder. The test came back normal for both me and my brother. About 10 years later, I was 22, working my…
Monitor Your Own Vitals: Jamie’s Story
It was June of 2023. I was five days postpartum when I started to get really erratic blood pressure readings. It would go from 177/206 to 123/79 within minutes, up and down like a roller coaster. I was also having palpitations and I remember telling the doctor later that I had a twinge of pain…
They Couldn’t Figure Out What Was Wrong: Shantelle’s Story
When I was 20, I had some pain in my leg. I chalked it up to a pulled muscle. In the next few days, it seemed to get worse. My mom convinced me to go to the hospital, but they told me I was constipated and sent me home. The pain continued to get worse…
My Lungs Felt Itchy: Jessica’s Story
In 2021 I was feeling healthier than I had in years because I spent the previous 10 months working out and eating better. On April 14, I had varicose veins treated in my right leg. Two weeks later, I had a follow-up where they did an ultrasound on the leg and released me to resume…
My Doctor Told Me I Almost Died: Tonia’s Story
On March 21, 2024, I woke up having extreme shortness of breath while trying to get ready for work. Finally, I decided to text my boss to tell him I was going to be late. I made it to work at 10:00 and let my boss know what was going on with me. At the…
I’m Happy to Be Alive: Lizzie’s Story
In September 2022, I underwent a foam sclerotherapy on the great saphenous vein in my left leg to treat a varicose vein. This is a minimally-invasive, non-surgical procedure that involves injecting a foam mixture into varicose veins to treat underlying vein conditions. At the time, I was unknowingly Covid positive for the second time in…
I’m Proud of How Far I’ve Come: Juliana’s Story
Less than two days after giving birth to her first baby, my aunt died of blood clots in her lungs and heart. I was 13 at the time and the news shocked the whole family. Two weeks after her funeral, I had some strange leg pain. I thought I had pulled a muscle or injured…
