Birth control

In March 2019, I was recovering from a broken ankle when I began experiencing odd, unfamiliar symptoms, like shortness of breath and back pain. I thought it was anxiety.   My husband picked me up from work one day, and the second I got in his car, I couldn’t breathe, then I passed out. When he…

In the summer of 2021, I started to experience extreme back pain. At times, I was unable to sit down or move at all.   Being an active 20-year-old who grew up playing sports, I attributed my pain to a tweak that I just needed to stretch out. But the pain continued getting worse, and my…

I started having intermittent chest pain in March 2021. I thought it was a sports injury and went to see my primary care provider (PCP). By May of that year, the pain was constant, so my PCP scheduled a CT scan.   I arrived at the imaging center and they had not received my order.…

On April 28, I went to urgent care for pain in my left ankle. I had sprained it three weeks prior, and it was swollen and not getting better. I was also experiencing shortness of breath as well as chest, rib, and shoulder blade pain on my left side. I thought maybe I slept wrong…

I woke up one morning with a slight twinge in my left side. I didn’t think much of it, though. I took some Advil and continued on with my day.   Despite my discomfort, I went on a hike with my boyfriend. After we got back, my side was bothering me a bit more. I figured…

In December 2021, I was climbing up the subway stairs, heading to my college campus in New York City, when I started feeling off-balanced and dizzy.  I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, so that’s what I thought was happening. I sat down and a nice family came over to me and asked if I…

I live a fairly active lifestyle as a preschool teacher, firefighter wife, and dog mom. I am always on the go! When I began experiencing what I thought were muscle cramps, I thought nothing of it. Little did I know, my body was experiencing a trauma that would halt me in my tracks.    In November…

Although I had experienced symptoms of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a rapid heartbeat, for at least 18 years, I wasn’t officially diagnosed with SVT until August 2018.  I was advised by my cardiologist to have an ablation – a procedure for restoring normal heart rhythm – to prevent episodes of SVT from reoccurring. Approximately…

I started 2020 with a three-level spinal fusion surgery in my lower back. I recovered for about five days in the hospital. During that time, I was given conflicting information: The nurse told me to get up and walk, and the doctor told me to lay flat and move as little as possible.   I remember…

I developed my first blood clot at 16 years old, a massive deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my left leg, extending from the middle of my shin to my belly button. Unfortunately, this clot resulted in multiple pulmonary emboli (PE), both caused by oral contraceptives.   I developed another DVT at eight weeks pregnant, even…