Patient Stories

I took oral birth control starting at age 18 until 33, when I got pregnant. I delivered twin boys by C- section in May 2024 and resumed taking the same birth control shortly after. In September 2024, I noticed my left leg was swollen and began turning a dark red/purple color. I went to the hospital…

As told by her sister, Heather. I experienced a blood clot. I survived. My sister didn’t. Around Thanksgiving of 2020, my 18-year-old sister Faith began complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, and then she passed out at work. Over the next three days, my parents took her to the doctor three times, where…

As told by her sister, Vanessa Brenda passed away on January 10, 2025, at 36. After almost three months of waiting, our family finally learned the cause of her death: pulmonary embolism due to lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. I’d heard of this condition before but never thought someone her age could be affected. The…

As told by Paul’s mother, Denise. We wish we had known the symptoms of blood clots, and we wish we had known they can affect anyone, at any age, at any time. Sadly, Paul, Jr. was not one of the lucky ones. He did not survive his blood clot. He passed away on September 19,…

In early September 2024, I noticed major swelling in my left leg/ankle but did what any 34-year-old would do — I chalked it up to something I ate that was bad for me. I had massages lined up toward the end of September to make me feel better from other health issues and stress at…

I went to the emergency room last year over what I thought was a blood clot in my leg. My D-dimer was elevated, but they still told me it was a pulled muscle and sent me home. So when I woke up in June 2024 and had the same pain in the same leg, I…

I went to the hospital in June 2022 with chest and back pain. The doctor told me I strained something playing softball and needed to lose weight. I was very active in high school and played four varsity sports as a starter. In December 2022, I went back to the ER, where the same doctor…

When I was 18, I was diagnosed with multiple bilateral pulmonary emboli. I was an active young adult, attending university and playing volleyball for my school. I woke up one night not being able to catch my breath and felt crazy amounts of pain in my ribs, upper right quadrant of my abdomen, and back.…

Ah summertime, my favorite time of year. Except last year. Last year, I found myself with sudden side and chest pain, difficulty breathing, inability to fully stand or sit upright, and inability to recline back seated or lay down in any position. Within 24 hours of these symptoms, I went to the doctor. He treated…

As told by her mother, Michelle Dominque, known to her friends and family as “Meeka,” loved the Maine outdoors and spent as much time as possible at camp on Moosehead Lake. Growing up, she enjoyed playing soccer, basketball, and softball. Meeka was a member of the Windsor Historical Society and volunteered at the Windsor Fair…