“Airplane Girl” Leah L. Wajdyk's Deep Vein Thrombosis / Pulmonary Embolism Patient Story

By: Leah Wajdyk

Leah Wajdyk My orthopedic surgeon calls me his "airplane" girl. I tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee as I was getting on an airplane in October of 2006. I wasn't throwing a football or playing softball, I was merely starting a business trip. My orthopedist and I shared some good laughs over my unexpected injury, because I was nearing age 40, and a torn ACL was not an expected part of this business trip for either of us. I had surgery to repair the tear on January 5, 2007. I adhered to the prescribed physical therapy religiously, and went to Physical Therapy and did exercises at home.

Almost 3 weeks after my surgery, I noticed I was having a hard time breathing. Fortunately, my mom was at our house helping with my kids. Once I caught my breath I said quietly to her, so that my kids would not hear, "Mom, I can't breathe." I'll never forget saying those words, and how frightened I felt. I called my surgeon and he told me to call an ambulance immediately. I knew that my mom would get me to the Emergency Room (ER) sooner than the ambulance, so she drove me to the ER. My orthopedic surgeon had alerted the ER staff that I was coming in and what my symptoms were.

They ordered an immediate ultrasound on my leg and found a blood clot that went from my knee to my groin. The CT scan showed a pulmonary embolism (PE), so I was immediately started on anti-clotting therapy in the ER. We breathe in and out every moment without even thinking about it, until we find that we cannot catch our breath. In my case, this was due to a PE, and I learned quickly that we can’t take breathing for granted. I had developed a blood clot in my leg, more than likely related to my injury and surgery, and a piece of the undetected leg clot broke off and traveled to my lungs, which disrupted my breathing.

I now know that a pulmonary embolism is a very serious condition that takes almost 80,000 lives each year, and is a condition that necessitates immediate medical intervention. I was one of the lucky survivors, and because I lived, I was overjoyed to find out six months later that I was pregnant.

I feel blessed to be alive, and able to bring my little boy to life to join his sisters. I get to raise my girls and their brother. Most of all, I can breathe freely!

Click here to return to our news page.

Click here to visit our FAQ section for patients.

Click here to visit our patient story section.