Birth control

Carmen McArthur’s story demonstrates the risk of blood clots associated with birth control pills.  Although the prescribing physician mentioned the risk, this patient did not think that she would be affected.  She chose the therapeutic benefit of the pills to treat heavy menstrual bleeding over what she perceived as minimal clotting …

My name is Kim Gronholz.  I am a 38 year old married mother of 3, an exercise addict, a former high school English teacher, a school/church volunteer, a stay-at-home mom, and most pertinently, a DVT/PE survivor! My husband and I had just returned home from a 5 day business/pleasure trip to Canada on a Sunday…

Today was a cool, brisk November day, and I decided to go visit Jessies’ Garden. I climbed from my car and walked the short distance to the spot where our journey ended two and a half years ago. We brought her here to her final resting-place while the bagpipes she loved played Amazing Grace. I…

I was logging more than 100 miles on my bicycle in any given week. So, at 46 years of age, it was not surprising that from time to time my legs ached. Why wouldn’t they? And that was exactly what I told my family physician when she warned me that my leg pain could be…

Katie was a junior in high school in 2007. Her periods were irregular and her doctor suggested that she begin taking birth control pill to regulate them.  We told her physician that her father had been diagnosed with factor V Leiden after a tiny stroke at age 39. We were told that this constituted a…

Jessica Stanley experienced physical trauma after a bullying incident in high school, from which she developed blood clots in her left leg and lungs. After taking a year off, she was proud to finish her senior year, and is now a blood clot survivor in her early 20s. My name is Jessica Stanley. Six years…

I am a 21 year old female who was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) in February 2012. I grew up playing sports, enjoyed many outdoor activities, and loved spending time with my loved ones. I had just moved about 900 miles away from home to Northern Ontario to begin nursing…

Jessica Stadler went from being a healthy, active young woman to someone with 3 pulmonary emboli (PEs), and she wants to alert everyone to the signs and symptoms of DVT and PE, so that they seek care right away. I have always been considered the healthy one among my friends and family. As an athletic young…