On September 30, 2023, I was driving up a mountain to a fall festival near my home in West Virginia with my husband and parents when I began having difficulty breathing, and my heart started racing.
By the time we stopped, I could not breathe deep enough and almost passed out. I had to sit on a bench the entire time, and when I did try to walk around, I could not catch my breath at all.
Later that evening, I finally agreed to go to the hospital. A CT scan confirmed that I had multiple blood clots in my lungs. Days prior, I had been in excruciating pain in my calves. I thought it was from working out, but it was most likely a DVT.
I was transported to a larger hospital two hours away and underwent a pulmonary embolectomy, the surgical removal of a pulmonary embolism. I was blessed beyond measure to have the doctors and nurses placed in my life when I did. They absolutely saved my life.
I found out later that I have factor V Leiden homozygous. I was also taking birth control at the time.
After this experience, I look at life so differently now. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.
I have learned so much but still have so much more to learn. NBCA materials have been helpful.
