PE

My name is Tiffany, and I am a career ballerina dealing with the high risk of bilateral pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in my lungs. My professional dance career was side tracked as I sought treatment. It was March 15, 2017, and my senior year, when I was performing a ballet solo in George Balanchine’s…

On the morning of October 23, 2015, I collapsed at home after suffering from massive bi-lateral pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots in my lungs. I had knee replacement surgery five weeks earlier. I was not prescribed blood thinners after my surgery, but my doctor instructed me to take aspirin, which I did. It was a…

My name is Ashley, and I was diagnosed with factor V Leiden, protein S deficiency, and protein C deficiency in March 2017. I was a waitress at the time, and I had just torn my shoulder due to a weight lifting accident. So, I started running outside a lot to stay active before I had…

I can still remember sitting alone in the emergency room sending funny selfies to my Mom. Why not? I lived in Pennsylvania and she was in North Dakota, and, of course, she was worried. I, on the other hand, was annoyed. Everything started with terrible lower left back pain that eventually moved to my left…

In 2005, I had severe uterine bleeding which lasted for 10 months. As a result, I was forced to have an emergency hysterectomy. In an effort to try to stop the bleeding, I was encouraged to take high doses of estrogen-based birth control pills. Two days before my surgery, I was also given two shots of estrogen-based…

Kimberly experienced ongoing chest pain, a racing heart, and shortness of breath, which she thought were most certainly due to a heart attack. She sought help from the emergency room on multiple occasions and was told she was experiencing anxiety, but she knew something was wrong. It wasn’t until she went to a different hospital that doctors …

I’m in my mid-twenties and very active. When I experienced calf pain for about two weeks, I attributed it to a strain from uphill running and other cardio and weightlifting workouts. Towards the end of two weeks, I couldn’t ignore the pain. I decided to pop into a nearby physical therapist’s office. I explained my…

I ran my first marathon in 2017, started graduate school for a Masters in Accounting, and accepted a job with a public accounting firm post-graduation. I have always led an active lifestyle throughout high school and into college, which is why it is still difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that…

For all of my life, I have struggled with my weight. When I was 23 and 346 pounds, I decided to get gastric bypass surgery. That is when my nightmare started.  After the surgery, I followed my doctor’s orders to walk as much as possible. However, I started experiencing chest pain about a week later…

After three and a half years, I am ready to share my story about blood clots and pulmonary emboli. My story is tied to my godson, Paul Englert Jr., who unfortunately did not have the same outcome as me. Almost four years ago, he lost his life to a pulmonary embolism at just 19 years…