Surgery

As told by her mother, Dawn. My daughter Leah was a healthy 20-year-old college student who needed a pretty extensive knee surgery in 2017. She came home from Purdue and had the surgery on May 12, 2017 so she could be ready to get back for fall semester. On June 5, 2017, she had a…

Three months after a surgical procedure, I went to urgent care as my leg was turning colors and I couldn’t walk. I was told that I had plantar fasciitis on the top of my foot. That was so off track, so I went to a sports medicine doctor who diagnosed me with tendonitis just by…

I am a two time blood clot survivor. My first pulmonary embolism was at 21 after endometriosis surgery and while on birth control, and my symptoms included shortness of breath and back pain making it impossible to sit back or lie back. My second clot happened when I was 25 after a cross-country flight. I…

I had my first DVT about 15 years ago after a surgery that damaged my deep vein, which slowed the blood flow and increased the risk of clots. I gave myself enoxaparin injections and went on warfarin (that’s all there was at the time) for six months. Two years ago, I had an unprovoked superficial…

In 2020, I awoke after a cardiac catheterization procedure to find my right leg swollen and discolored. I asked the nurse to contact my physician, but was informed the symptoms I was experiencing were normal. After four hours of lying flat, I continued to bleed from my incision site. Despite the immense pain that radiated…

When I was 34 weeks pregnant and 25 years old, I started experiencing pain in my left calf. Being a nurse, I started to question when I should be concerned about the pain. I reached out to my obstetrician and was advised to drink more water and walk more often. The following weekend, I traveled…

I had my son via C-section in April 2023. During my pregnancy, doctors said my leg pain was sciatica. After having my son, I was having severe headaches, and the pain medicine I was given didn’t help. A week later, I had three seizures. After the first seizure, we went to a local hospital. They…

In February 2019, I had surgery to remove a benign bone tumor in my sacrum, a triangular bone that connects the spine to the pelvis. An IV was placed in my right arm prior to the procedure, but I noticed they had switched the IV site to my left arm when I woke up from…

I had given birth via C-section, and my daughter was sent to the neonatal intensive care unit at a different hospital. My legs were swollen for a couple of days after giving birth, but I figured it was normal since they pumped me with so many fluids when I was in labor and delivery. Six…

I am a trail runner, CrossFitter, MMA/jiu jitsu player, and mountaineer. I trained hard, ate clean, and slept enough so that I could maximize both my performance and longevity.  I was a hybrid athlete balancing strength and endurance. Then I twisted my knee at jiu jitsu camp. I needed a meniscus repair, which caused massive…