The National Blood Clot Alliance this week released a powerful new episode of its Taking a Breath podcast featuring board member and survivor Dan Walsh, whose story is the focus of NBCA’s 2025 year-end fundraising and awareness campaign.
Walsh was just 31 when a week of persistent back pain—initially misdiagnosed as a pulled muscle—escalated into a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Looking back, he calls it “the back pain that saved my life,” words that capture the gravity of what he endured and the gratitude that now guides him.
Dan opens up about what came after the emergency: the trauma, fear, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that followed him long after he left the hospital.
“Surviving a blood clot is only the first step,” Walsh shares. “The trauma stays with you. Talking about PTSD matters because so many survivors carry it alone.”
Walsh reflects on how the ordeal affected his young family — from his wife hearing he might not survive to the fear of recurrence and the long road back to normal.
Walsh credits NBCA’s support and survivor community with helping him heal, giving him the courage to share his story, and turning fear into purpose.
The release of this episode coincides with NBCA’s end-of-year giving campaign, which highlights Dan’s story and the urgent need to support survivors and families navigating the emotional aftermath of blood clots, which is often left out of clinical discussions.
Funds raised will help NBCA:
• Expand public awareness and education to prevent blood clots
• Provide vital resources to patients and families
• Address survivor mental health needs, including PTSD
• Strengthen community programs that connect survivors nationwide
• Advance advocacy that saves lives through earlier recognition and intervention
Every donation empowers survivors like Dan and enables NBCA to continue its mission to stop blood clots and support those affected by them.
Blood clots take 100,000 lives each year, and many of them preventable. NBCA encourages the public to listen to Dan’s episode, share his story, and support our lifesaving work.
