Woman
The Lifelong Implications of Blood Clots: Lisa’s Story
I was first blindsided by deep vein thrombosis after the birth of my second child in 1993. Shortly after she was born, I remember stumbling on the steps on my way upstairs after preparing a middle-of-the-night bottle. I thought I had pulled a muscle, and the growing pain in my leg didn’t alarm me. But…
Blood Clots Developed After Surgery: Tonya’s Story
In February 2018, three days after emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder, I had a really bad pain in my right calf and was having difficulty breathing. So, I went to the emergency room, and I was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or a blood clot in the right leg, and bilateral pulmonary embolism…
I Got Extremely Lucky: Kelly’s Story
On Halloween 2021, I noticed that my thigh was sore and I was out of breath. I figured it was just a pulled muscle and allergies or a cold coming on. Walking into work the next morning, I was so out of breath that I fainted. I had fainted in the past, so I just…
I Didn’t Have Any Risk Factors: Barbara’s Story
In July 2017, I was walking from the parking garage to my office, and by the time I got to my desk, I was completely out of breath. This continued for three days. By the third day, I was scared and I actually thought maybe I had a heart attack. I made an appointment with…
I Suddenly Lost All Vision: Haley’s Story
I was 23 years old and 40 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy. I was considered high risk because of a cyst cutting the circulation off to my right ovary, and I also had endometriosis. I had a C-section on August 17, 2020. After the surgery, I returned to my hospital room and cuddled up with…
I Truly Felt This Was It: Kylie’s Story
In February 2023, I went to the ER with abdominal pain I couldn’t explain. After four days in step-down ICU, 30+ labs, two CT scans, three ultrasounds, a chest X-ray, and an echocardiogram, doctors told me I had blood clots, which compromised my blood flow and caused splenic infarcts. After a consult with my hematologist,…
I Advocate For Myself More: Jessi’s Story
In October 2021, I had a fall that caused my left knee to dislocate. It was determined that I had fractured my patella, and torn the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) in my knee. Since I had a history of dislocations, I opted for an MPFL reconstruction to reduce the chance of dislocation in the future.…
I Was Told I Was Too Young for Blood Clots: Audrey’s Story
At 20 years old, I was healthy, fit, active, and recovering from an ACL tear from a year and a half prior. When I finally went in for reconstructive surgery on June 19, 2020, it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, already a very stressful time. I was aware that I had a…
My Neighbor Found Me and Performed CPR: Jessica’s Story
My husband and I are both ultra runners. On June 27 of this year, we were both going for an early morning training run with him starting about five minutes behind me. I had been experiencing shortness of breath for a few weeks before this run. Little things, such as bringing groceries in from the…
I Live With the Pain of Taking Deep Breaths: Celeste’s Story
In April 2020, I had been feeling sick and brushed it off as allergies. Due to COVID, I had a telehealth visit and was diagnosed with bronchitis. After four months of a lingering cough, I started to have a hard time breathing while doing the most menial things. Standing became so trying. I finally went…
