On October 6, 2024, at 36 weeks pregnant, I found myself in the emergency department of the hospital where I began and ended my bedside nursing career. My shortness of breath and elevated heart rate, which could have easily been attributed to pregnancy itself, were soon discovered to be due to a submassive saddle pulmonary embolism.
As a former ICU nurse, I knew what it meant when they activated cardiology to the bay I was in. But that day was full of small miracles because I found myself surrounded by friends and former coworkers. As it turns out, I was lucky: the hospital had a mechanical thrombectomy device and physicians trained to use it to remove the PE.
As I consented to lifesaving devices for my unborn daughter and myself in case I crashed on the cath lab table, I made a goodbye video for my older daughter. Then, I asked the cath lab doctor who was on call for cardiothoracic surgery, in case they had to put me on life support. He told me, and it was a surgeon I met many years ago at my first nursing job just a few floors up.
At that moment, I decided that the only possible outcome was that I make it off that table intact. I told him we wouldn’t be calling her in.
And we didn’t.
The team successfully removed my PE and diagnosed a large DVT in my left leg as the likely culprit. I stayed on a heparin drip for the next two weeks as the high-risk OB, hematology, cardiology, and vascular surgery teams worked tirelessly to plan a safe delivery.
The baby was born on October 22, and we were home before Halloween. I count my lucky stars every day for every turn of events that got me to this side of things. And I’m back to my usual, highly active life with my amazing husband and daughters, except now I take apixaban and have renewed focus and gratitude for my life and the people in it.
Life is shorter than you think.
And also infinitely more wonderful.
It’s hard to have bad days once you’ve faced the possibility of no more days at all.
Resources
PEP Talk: Mechanical Thrombectomy
Pregnancy
Living Your Best Life on Blood Thinners
