International

In January 2025, I collapsed at A&E (the emergency department in the UK) with chest pain and a racing heart (tachycardia.) I have a history of arrhythmias and spent three days in the hospital for tests, and was put on medication for arrhythmia before being discharged. I was due to have a follow-up and was…

At the age of 20, two weeks after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl, I had extreme pain in my lower calf and could barely move. It was swollen, red, and hot to the touch, and heavy. I was frightened! I went to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with a DVT and hospitalized…

One day at work, I suspected that I had malaria. I went to the hospital and had a rapid test done, and the results showed that I was negative. But I went ahead and started taking malaria drugs for three days because I was feeling terrible. I sought treatment again, but at a different hospital,…

I was three weeks away from turning 18 and I was working in checkout in a supermarket when I got what felt like a cramp in my left calf. My family told me to try drinking salt water, but after three days, I woke up with my left leg doubled in size, looking purple, and…

Two weeks after giving birth to our second son, I got out of bed and noticed my leg was hurting, and I was barely able to put weight on it. I went about my day as normal, but I started to feel heavy and tired. When I sat down and put my feet up, I…

In March 2024, I ran a parent race at my kids’ sporting event. Two days later, I started to experience symptoms similar to costochondritis, an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone, including a sharp pain in my ribs. It became worse, and I could not lay flat to sleep and…

In March 2011, I had a C-section and developed a superficial clot in my left leg, My treatment was compression socks and I felt better after a week. Years later, on March 30, 2024, I had a fall from an electric scooter. All my weight fell on my left leg, but somehow, I got up…

Tilly created a documentary on living with the aftermath of deep vein thrombosis. Watch it here.  It began with excruciating back pain and shooting pains up my left leg. I felt unable to walk. The week that I noticed my first symptoms, I was back and forth to urgent care and the doctors. They kept…

On Christmas Eve 2023, I slipped on ice and broke my kneecap. I spent eight weeks in a splint and kept my leg elevated. Two weeks later, I experienced shortness of breath and chest pain suddenly. I went to the ER and was diagnosed with a submassive bilateral PE with right heart strain. I spent…

I am a healthy 23-year-old woman and had never experienced any real health concerns. I walk the same route every morning to work, but on this particular morning, I was out of breath almost instantly. When I sat at my desk, I was still unable to catch my breath. It felt like the air was…