Patient Stories
My PE Stemmed From an Accident: Terry’s Story
My story begins in May 2019 when I was paying for gas inside a kiosk and a car crashed through the window, barreling into me and nearly running me over. Months later in December, I had a surgery to repair a torn labrum in the hip. Ten days later, on January 5, 2020, I nearly…
A Nagging Cough and Shoulder Pain Were My First Symptoms: Mike’s Story
I had a nagging cough for a few days, which later became shoulder pain on Friday, March 18, 2022. I went to a local urgent care center to get checked, and the X-ray showed that I possibly had pneumonia. Despite antibiotics, my condition worsened over the weekend. By Tuesday, March 22, I had shortness of…
I Was Dismissed Twice at the ER: Erin’s Story
On November 4, 2021, at the age of 27, I started experiencing pain in my neck that shot up through my head. I figured it was just pulled a muscle, but for the next three days the pain got worse. On November 8, four days after the pain started, I decided to go to urgent…
This Experience Changed My Entire Life: Kim’s Story
In September 2015, I was sitting in the ICU wondering how I had gotten there. Flash back to six months prior, I had severe depression and I weighed close to 300 pounds. I was also training for a 160-mile bike ride from Miami to Key West. During my training for this ride, I started experiencing…
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute: Marianne’s Story
In December of 2020 I started having some breathing issues. It was a struggle to make it up stairs and I seemed more exhausted than usual. I thought I was just tired and needed to rest. I told myself I would rest over the holidays and that I would eventually be fine. January rolled around…
This Needed More than a Tylenol Prescription: Ashley’s Story
At 31 weeks pregnant, I was getting ready for the arrival of my baby when I started experiencing extreme pain in my left leg. I remember going to my baby shower and barely being able to walk. This was very concerning, so after the baby shower, I called my OB/GYN and explained the symptoms I…
A Challenging Series of Miscarriages: Janelle’s Story
In 2011, I became pregnant with my fourth child and went in for what I thought would be a normal 8–12-week doctor’s visit, but instead they told me that I was having a miscarriage. This was confusing and devastating news that was challenging to process. I could not understand why I was having a miscarriage…
A Combination of Missed Risk Factors: Gina’s Story
In 2017, at 21 years old, I was undergoing my third surgery on my left knee after I had torn my ACL and meniscus playing college basketball. I was back on the court a few short weeks later, but felt that my hamstring was unusually tight. This didn’t seem right to me, so I decided…
Mamas Get Blood Clots Too: Justine’s story
I had my first blood clot when I was 24 years old after ACL reconstruction surgery — a risk factor for blood clots that I was unaware of. After my surgery, I noticed that my arm was warm, swollen, and red, all signs of blood clots. I knew something was off, and decided to go…
Living with Post-Thrombotic Anxiety: Holly’s Story
I had my first pulmonary embolism (PE) at the age of 30. My symptoms began with prolonged shortness of breath for about six weeks. There were many days when I woke up unable to breathe. I disregarded this symptom because I assumed I was just out of shape. However, my shortness of breath got progressively…
