Unprovoked

In August 2020, I had severe left calf cramping, but I didn’t think much of it. The next morning, I awoke to a sensation going up my leg. I felt an explosion in my chest and could not catch my breath. I figured it was anxiety until the next day, when I couldn’t handle the…

I had an injury to my forearm in June 2022. Less than a week later, I started getting severe chest pains. I was taken to the hospital with c-reactive protein test (CRP) markers of 93 and was sent home with antibiotics.   A week later, I experienced the same pain, but worse. This time a CT…

Everything felt normal, but I was left gasping after walking up a hill carrying a bucket of water. Something was wrong. I was subtly winded after golfing and climbing stairs, but I paid no attention. I thought it could be allergies. The next day, walking up that same hill with the bucket, I was out…

Six months ago, at 31 years old, I suffered a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Blood clots know no age. On March 3, 2021 I woke up and had a pain in my left leg and knew something was wrong. I visited a doctor who sent me for an ultrasound, which revealed a massive DVT spanning…

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…

My story begins in February of this year when I felt a sharp, intense pain in my ribs. Assuming it was a pulled muscle from a workout the day before, I didn’t think anything of it. But by 4 a.m., the pain woke me up. I called the non-emergency services here in the United Kingdom,…

In December 2016, my life felt as full as it could get. I had six kids ranging in age from 1 year old to 12 years old, a busy freelance writing career, and involvement in various community organizations, including a parent advocacy group I had helped form a year before. Yet, my concept of “busy”…

November 2 is a day that will forever haunt me. The previous day I got up from my work desk and was extremely lightheaded. It was almost as if I couldn’t walk, I was so dizzy. I grabbed a snack thinking maybe my blood sugar was low, but it didn’t help. I chalked it up…

Everything started when I was 16 years old, which was six years ago. I couldn’t breathe, and even while walking a few steps, I was out of breath. I was taken to the hospital for what they thought was a chest infection. They did not think it was blood clots because I was so young.…

One spring morning in 2016, I woke up from a long, deep sleep in my California apartment. I turned on the morning Los Angeles news and saw that the musician Prince had died. I also simultaneously realized, in that moment, that I could not feel my toes in my right foot. I had been limping…