DVT

I believe that our daily hustle and bustle, which society has pressured us to believe is normal, convinces us to think that obligations are more important than the health and wellness of our own bodies. Ironically, being a doctorate student unintentionally embodies that notion as curriculum piles up to what eventually feels like an unfathomable…

During my first pregnancy at 15 years old, I started to have intense burning and numbness on my left side groin and hip region that my OB/GYN stated was normal pregnancy pain. After giving birth, I followed up with my primary doctor and neurologist. All of my doctor’s visits concluded with no diagnosis. My second…

I am 28 years old and fairly active. I go to Crossfit five times a week. Blood clots were never on my radar screen. But on May 1, 2020, as I was walking to my car, I was overcome by dizziness and lightheadedness as I have never experienced before. I was also fatigued from walking…

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…

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…

My name is Gina and I am a 32-year-old mom of three children. On March 23, 2020, I gave birth to my third child. My husband and I had made the decision he would be our last, so I signed the consent forms for a tubal ligation several months prior. March was the height of…

In December 2016, my life felt as full as it could get. I had six kids ranging in age from 1 year old to 12 years old, a busy freelance writing career, and involvement in various community organizations, including a parent advocacy group I had helped form a year before. Yet, my concept of “busy”…

My story began after a total right hip replacement at 36 years old. What was supposed to be a routine and life-changing surgery, due to only being in my thirties, turned out very differently. I developed a rare, but serious complication that resulted in the loss of my right quadriceps function. I had no feeling,…