Woman
Recovery Has Been a Long Road: Jessica’s Story
I had COVID for the first time in November of 2020. My symptoms were typical: fatigue, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath. Once I recovered, I had ongoing yet mild shortness of breath, so when it started happening more frequently, I wrote it off as just a symptom of long COVID. Looking back, I…
The Perfect Storm of Travel, Birth Control, and COVID: Claire’s Story
After a business trip to France followed by a week of mild COVID symptoms, I was eager to get back into my routine. That is, until I started feeling a strange pain in my leg about three weeks later. I’d recently had a dermatological procedure on that leg, so I thought my stitches might be…
I Started Losing My Vision: Lydia’s Story
June 2021 was the month my life was flipped upside down. I started experiencing intense pressure in my head and a sharp pain in my neck and shoulder that radiated down my arm. I visited my primary care doctor and an urgent care center, where I was prescribed muscle relaxers, a steroid, and was set…
My Daughter is Afraid I Won’t Come Home From My Appointments: Kate’s Story
In March 2022, while going about my everyday activities, I suddenly experienced extreme breathlessness. It felt like someone had hit me, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I’m a single parent, and my then –7-year-old found me on the bed. There was no ambulance available to get to me; I was told…
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…
