In my twenties, I developed a pain in my calf that was extremely uncomfortable. I couldn’t put my foot on the ground to walk. My dad had DVTs a few years before and told me to go to the hospital.
At the hospital, I was given an anticoagulant and sent for a scan the next day. They couldn’t find anything in my leg and told me it was a muscle strain. I went to a different hospital, and sure enough, I had DVT in the left leg.
The next one was in my popliteal vein behind the knee, which was even more uncomfortable and harder to find. Again, I was told it was just muscle strain, but I persisted and told them I knew what a blood clot felt like. It was treated with apixaban.
Some time after that, I was diagnosed with a blood clot in a vein close to the skin, a condition known as superficial thrombophlebitis.
The next blood clot nearly got me. In June 2025, at 33, I had a blood clot in the venous sinus system in my brain, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which caused a stroke.
I’d had a headache for six days and thought it was a migraine from stress. My husband took me to the emergency room because I was off balance and was slurring my words. I didn’t know what month or year it was. Now I’ve lost memories, I get tired very easily, and have a constant headache.
My father has factor V Leiden, and I’ve apparently tested negative for it. Four clots later, though, I’m not sure.
I’m living my days to the fullest now, gratefully.
