Misdiagnosed

On September 5, 2021 I woke up in the middle of the night with a cramping pain in my right leg, which didn’t seem like anything serious at the time. I woke up the next morning and carried out my usual routine, but the pain became unbearable so I decided to see a doctor. The…

The Road to Diagnosis As far back as my teenage years, I had experienced chronic shortness of breath. This worsened in my twenties and thirties as new symptoms emerged, including occasional chest and arm pains and general exhaustion. Over the years I sought the opinions of countless doctors, leading to misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis, …

In May of 2021, I dislocated my ankle. I was also on hormonal birth control. After the ankle injury, I was told to go home and rest, and not to bear weight on my ankle for 4-6 weeks. After about a week and a half, I had intense pain and cramping in the calf of…

A few days after my fourth daughter was born, I went to the emergency room for terrible leg pain. They did an ultrasound and assured me I did not have any blood clots. I went back again for a second time because I was certain I had a blood clot. Again, they sent me home…

In September 2020, at the age of 24 and in good health, one week away from graduating with my master’s degree, I nearly lost my life. I woke up one day with a headache slightly worse than normal. Over a week, things got worse until I was in more pain than I had ever experienced…

My mum saved my life. I was diagnosed with upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or a blood clot in my arm, in late June 2019. I started showing signs and symptoms at the beginning of the month. I was 26 years old, had a 9 to 5 job, and loved going to the gym.…

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…

At 15 years old, I began taking hormonal contraceptives to relieve migraines. I received my prescription quickly after a brief medical exam where I was asked about my family history. I never imagined my journey on hormonal contraceptives would end abruptly nine years later after an emergency room diagnosis of bilateral pulmonary emboli, or bloods…

I went to the ER in April 2020 with severe pain in my right chest and back area. I couldn’t lie flat, or take any deep breaths, like coughs or sneezes. I couldn’t bend forward to pick anything up, and I was getting fatigued from the pain. It had gone on for three days before…

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,…