Woman
I’m in Constant Fear for My Safety Due to the Blood Thinners: Julia’s Story
In December of 2022, I had surgery on my femur. Five days later, I felt an excruciating pain in my calf and knew something was wrong. I went to the ER and was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that occluded almost my whole leg. I was prescribed blood thinners and I’ve been taking them…
The Last Thing I Remember Was Trying to Say, ‘Help me:’ Heather’s Story
My blood clot story started at a time that should’ve been the happiest of our lives — we had just become a family of four! A few days after giving birth to our second child, I developed a severe headache. Unfortunately, at the ER, I was misdiagnosed and treated for post-partum pre-eclampsia. After a few…
I Have Stronger Faith: Katie’s Story
I was diagnosed with COVID in February of 2020 and had severe symptoms, including extremely painful breathing. I developed an internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJVT) in my neck during the initial COVID-19 infection. I had symptoms from the IJVT for two years, but it wasn’t discovered until I had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which…
The Pain in my Lungs and Back Returned: Isabelle’s Story
My cousin, who was 22, died of a pulmonary embolism when I was 10 years old. At autopsy, she was found to have protein C resistance, explained by the factor V Leiden mutation. As this mutation is genetic, the whole family was tested. I was found to be a carrier of this mutation, and I…
The Clot Went From My Groin to My Ankle: Janis’ Story
I have always been a relatively active person, and I participated in kickboxing and powerlifting. It was 2020 and I was one month away from my 30th birthday, doing jump squats in my living room due gyms closed by COVID. I felt a pain in my left hip and thought I pulled a muscle. …
Knowledge is Power: Stephanie’s Story
When I was eight months pregnant, my grandmother passed away. My blood pressure began to spike, and I was diagnosed with gestational hypertension. I ended up being induced at 37 weeks in order to keep the baby safe. The night I delivered my daughter, my dad went into cardiac arrest. He passed away a week…
I’m Lucky to be Alive: Amanda’s Story
My first issue with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) began in November of 2022. My family and I went on a five-hour road trip to Disneyland. A week after returning home, I began to develop a charley horse cramp in my right calf. I assumed I had pulled a muscle somehow. I tried massage and…
I Thought I Had COVID: Talicia’s Story
In January 2021, I woke up in the middle of a Sunday night feeling like I needed to put ice water on my body. As I carried the glass of ice water back to bed, I suddenly found myself struggling to make it to the couch. What seemed like minutes later, I woke up with…
I Missed Two Doses of My Blood Thinner: Diana’s Story
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…
Protein C Deficiency Often Has No Symptoms: Alicia’s Story
I will never forget February 18, 2022. At the time, I was a healthy, active 30-year-old, training for my seventh half marathon. Two nights before, I had developed chest pain and shortness of breath. I wrote off the chest pain as a pulled muscle from lifting and dismissed the shortness of breath as anxiety. But…
