Surgery

My orthopedic surgeon dubbed me his “airplane” girl, because of an ironic twist of fate (and twist of my knee!).  Believe it or not, I tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee as I was getting onto an airplane in October 2006.  One would think I might be injured throwing a football…

I noticed that I had severe cramping in my right calf in 2003, and ended up in the hospital for a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).  The birth control pills I was taking then were the likely culprit, and I know now at age 51 to avoid hormone based birth control or replacement therapy in the…

Running is my greatest passion, but at age 27 it nearly cost me my life.  Last March, I ran a half-marathon and went straight into training for a full marathon.  I noticed a pain in my hip after I completed the half-marathon, but like most runners, I ran through the pain.  As it turned out,…

My experience with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) began more than 30 years ago in November 1979 when I was 30, and pregnant with my second child.  I flew with my husband and 3-year-old daughter from our home in Texas to visit my husband’s family in California for the Christmas holidays the next month.   While there,…

My name is Tim Allen and I am 59 years old.  I “busted” my foot playing soccer in college and needed surgery to repair it about 35 years ago when I was in the Air Force.  However, it got worse recently, and I dislocated my toes whenever I ran.  Unfortunately, I developed DVTs in my…

Kimberly Hennings of Colorado shares her and her sister’s story of pulmonary embolism.  Kim developed multiple PE’s post-surgery in November 2007.  She later found out she carries prothrombin G20210A genetic thrombophilia, as do all of her family members except her mother.  Tragically, her sister Angela died of a PE at age 40 in July 2008. …