Woman

I am an avid recreational bicyclist. At the age of 51, I attempted my first multi-day bicycle tour. A couple of days after the six-day tour, I noticed a sharp pain in my left calf. It didn’t feel like a muscle pull. Honestly, it felt like a blood clot, but there was no redness and no…

I have always heard it said, “pain is weakness leaving the body,” and as a Marine, I’ve always been one to push my limits, but nothing could prepare me for what was to come. I found enjoyment in long distance runs long after I completed my time in the Marine Corps and trained for marathons.…

My story begins with a knee injury in October 2015. I was in an immobilizer brace for about four weeks. I was also taking birth control pills. I was 39 years old and very active. On November 6, 2015, I woke up and then passed out once I stood up. About twenty minutes later, I…

I was 23 years old when I gave birth to my daughter in June 2010. During the last few months of my pregnancy, I sat and laid in bed a lot, because I suffered from sciatica, a condition in which compression of the spinal nerve causes pain in the lower back. Everything was normal with…

I want to share my story because, most importantly, it was as a result of reading patient stories on the National Blood Clot Alliance website that I went to get checked and was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my left calf. Let me tell you a little bit more about me. I am…

I love to travel. I grew up in Boston, and after college I moved to Washington, DC. Moving away from home and my family was the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but one of the most rewarding as well. By taking this leap of faith, I grew so much as a person and traveled to…

As any teenager does, I struggled with the insecurities of acne. After exhausting many acne clearing options, I decided to see my doctor about it. When I went to see my doctor, I brought up the fact that I knew other girls who were on birth control for their acne and I wanted to try the…

As I look back on my blood clot experience, my symptoms started in mid-July, when I had a sharp pain in my right calf. I recall asking my aunt, a former nurse, “How do you know when you have a blood clot?” I dismissed the pain I was experiencing as due to a recent increase in…

My name is Hub Williams and I would like to share my wonderful partner’s story. On January 6, 2016, we lost a loving, caring, and amazing woman — who was only 36 years old — to a pulmonary embolism (PE or blood clot in the lung). Her name was Summer Kylene Gibney. She was very healthy and…

My name is Hailey Rutherford and I am a 23 years old. My story is complicated. I was married last year on February 7 and experienced a lot of life changes. One of those changes was being put on birth control pills. Due to irregular menstrual bleeding, I was switched to a stronger dosage pill. On…