Patient Stories
“My God. I Could Have Died:” Cheryl’s Story
Listen to Your Body I’m 68 now. I’ve had asthma most of my life. It’s under control most of the time. February 2025 The first of February 2025, my breathing was not good. I thought it was my asthma. My nebulizer was doing nothing. I went to urgent care. They did a chest x-ray and…
My Right Lung Was 100% Clotted — and My Doctor Told Me It Was Just COVID Recovery: Melissa’s Story
Your Body Speaks. Listen. In late October 2020, I was 8 weeks past a bout of COVID — but short of breath with a hard cough that did not respond to medication. Two Visits. No Answers. Visit 1 to urgent care in early November showed high BP and a hard cough — but nothing on…
Birth Control Caused My Blood Clot — and I Had to Fight to Find Out: Lilian’s Story
Listen to Your Body and Be Your Own Advocate My symptoms began Sunday, April 5, 2026. I got up after sitting on our couch for a while with my legs folded and suddenly had an extremely sharp pain in my right leg that felt like a terrible charley horse. I began holding my significant other’s…
At 3:00 a.m., I Woke Up in Terror: Meredith’s Story
My Scan Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree We had just come home from watching my husband coach basketball — a completely ordinary night. Nothing felt significant. 3:00 a.m. At 3:00 a.m., I woke up in terror. I couldn’t move. I could barely speak. Every breath sent a stabbing pain through the back left side…
I Had No Chest Pain — and Three Pulmonary Embolisms: Tammie’s Story
Just Because You Don’t Check the Boxes Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Have a PE In October 2020, I survived 3 pulmonary embolisms. It Started as Something Familiar It started with feeling unwell with some problems breathing. Because I had asthma, I thought it was that. However, it got much worse the next day. No Chest…
My 14 Year Old Child Saved My Life From a Massive Clot: Cheryl’s Story
My 14 Year Old Child Saved My Life It was 9:30am on 9th December 2022. I was sat on my bed. I had been well the previous fortnight, though I did have a bad cough and a slight niggle in the back of my leg that I thought was a pulled muscle from wearing a…
A “Just to Be Safe” CT Found a Blood Clot in My Brain: Deborah’s Story
I Was Very Lucky and I’m So Very Happy to Be Alive On March 6, 2025, I went into the ER for a headache I had been experiencing for a few days, despite trying every trick to get rid of it. It felt weird — but I just thought it was another migraine. The First…
Given a Baby Aspirin Instead of Blood Thinners — Keri’s Story
But I’m Here. I Survived. In April 2024, I underwent ACL reconstruction surgery after rupturing my ACL. About a week after surgery, I started feeling pain in my back. I brushed it off, assuming it was from sleeping differently since I had to keep my leg straight and had been sleeping on my back. The…
I Was 72, Flying Cross-Country, With No Idea What a Blood Clot Was: Gail’s Story
I Didn’t Listen to My Body Two years ago, after traveling and flying across country with my 8 pound dog on my lap, I came down with what I thought was the flu or bronchitis. I had a nagging cough that wouldn’t go away. I got a script for cough medicine. The Pain Began Almost…
I Was Awake During My Thrombectomy — Sara’s Story
There Are Moments That Divide Your Life Into a Before and an After I’ve only heard the words “pulmonary embolism” a handful of times in my life. It was a term really reserved for the unthinkable — the kind of thing that happens to other people, not me or my loved ones. February 2nd On…
