At 39, I walked into a local emergency room with what I later learned were textbook symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). I was late into the first trimester of pregnancy, and my left leg had been bothering me for several days—starting as a crampy, achy feeling and quickly turning into something more serious: swelling, redness, and a calf warm to the touch.
I figured I’d schedule a doctor’s appointment soon, but one night, as I was leaving work, I knew something was very wrong. I was suddenly out of breath, and my heart raced wildly.
I shuffled slowly through the parking garage, feeling like my chest might explode. My biggest concern wasn’t even the pain—it was how I’d manage to climb the 12 steps to my second-floor apartment. That night, I moved in slow motion: showered, brushed my teeth, and crawled into bed. I didn’t even deadbolt the front door, thinking if something happened, at least first responders or my son (a two-hour car ride away at college) could get in.
The next day I pushed myself to go to work, as I was feeling better or at least the shortness of breath had lessened. A few hours later, I had to act. The leg pain was overwhelming. I had to enlist the help of my coworkers. They wheeled me in an office chair to the freight elevator, pulled my car around to the loading dock so I didn’t have to walk more than a few steps, and one coworker even followed me to the ER and stayed with me.
After waiting on the results of a D-dimer test and an ultrasound, I was finally admitted. That began a four-day, three-night hospital stay. I had never experienced a health scare like that in my life, and I had no idea just how close I came to real danger. I was later diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome.
By the grace of God—and being relatively healthy—I made it through. For six months, I saw a hematologist, my PCP, and a few specialists. I continued to see the hematologist on and off for another 3-4 years. Then in July of 2021, I had another clotting episode. Though nowhere near as severe, it was no less terrifying.
There was no definitive explanation as to why this episode happened, but my hematologist and vascular surgeon seem to agree that May-Thurner syndrome had something to do with it. As a result, I had a venous stent put in my left groin/hip area in March 2024.
That seemed to have helped quite a bit. However, I stay vigilant (mostly) about taking as many preventative actions as possible!
Through this experience, I’ve learned that you have to keep living life and not be afraid. You’re not a prisoner of this experience or any lasting medical conditions.
