PE

At 23 years old, I never thought I would be lying in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors who were baffled by one of the youngest cases of blood clots in the lung that they had ever seen. It was the summer of 2014, and my husband and I had just bought our first home…

One year ago, I was diagnosed with a massive blood clot in my lung. It occurred when I was away for the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend on a ski trip in New York. Early that weekend, on a Saturday, I had a minor fall getting off of the lifts. I injured both of…

I am 19 years old right now, and in my second year of university. The school I attend is about 3.5 to 4 hours from home, so I live on my own with a few friends. In the beginning of November 2019, when I was still 18 years old, I started coughing a lot and…

When I was 19 years old, during the first week of my sophomore year of college, I awoke one morning with a strange, tight pain in my right shoulder. I assumed I had just slept on it funny, and continued about my day as usual. The pain didn’t seem to let up, even after I…

I am a 23-year-old female from South Africa who was on the hormonal birth control pill for skin purposes. As a human physiology and genetics graduate, I knew the risks of taking contraceptives and how it increases blood viscosity, or thickness, but I never thought that it was going to happen to me, even though…

I have always been someone who believed I could overpower being sick— at 31 years old, a hot shower, big glass of water, an over-the-counter pain medication, and a fresh face of makeup could still solve just about any ailment I experienced. But, when I broke my ankle in late November 2018 and started experiencing…

After I broke a bone in my foot, I was put in a leg cast up to my knee. I was told to keep it elevated, don’t put any weight on it, and rest. Ten days later, I felt lightheaded and my cast was feeling tighter, so I went to the doctor. They put on…

When my symptoms started, I was 34 years old, a bride-to-be and an avid runner. In fact, I was going to run a half-marathon the week before my wedding. Training had been going well, but as race day approached, I noticed I was feeling unusually tired. To save energy for the wedding, I skipped the…

At 44 years old, I never knew the impact a blood clot could have on someone’s life, especially my own! Both physically and emotionally, 2019 has been a rough year for me. I was diagnosed with a chronic back issue in January 2019, and after many months of conservative treatments, I decided to schedule a…

I am a registered nurse, but that didn’t help me spot my issue. I was working a shift, and I felt very run down and tired. I thought maybe I was catching the flu. My left leg felt kind of tingly like my foot was asleep, and I had some pain in my groin, which…