Mental health

In December 2012, I was at work when a mild discomfort in my rib cage quickly become excruciating.   Upon arriving at the ER, I was given various tests, including an EKG and ultrasound, which revealed blood clots in both of my legs, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Further testing confirmed that I had blood clots…

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…

I’ve always been an active person, regularly hiking 40 miles a week. When I had extreme calf pain in 2011 at 54 years old, I went to ER and was diagnosed with an unprovoked deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and was prescribed warfarin for six months. They did not know what caused the DVT and did…

In 2016, while on duty as a firefighter, I experienced pain behind my knee and swelling in my right leg. A couple of weeks earlier, while playing with my children, I also experienced what I could only describe as a “shaken fizzy can opening feeling” in my chest that went after a minute or two.  …

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 injured my ankle in 2017 and needed surgery. Shortly after, I woke up in the middle of the night with intense pain in my back. I knew it was bad, as I was having difficulty moving. My husband took me to the ER, where I was fortunate that they did take me seriously. They…

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…

A few days after delivering my second child in February 2021, I found myself back in the hospital with stomach pain and a fever. A CT scan revealed a massive blood clot in my inferior vena cava, the largest vein in the abdomen that collects unoxygenated blood from the lower body and brings it to…

When I was 37 weeks pregnant with my first child, I began experiencing a painful, pressurized cramping sensation in my upper thigh that was dismissed by three different OB/GYNs during my weekly appointments. They assured me it was just the baby putting pressure on nerves and ligaments in my pelvis.    However, at 17 days post-delivery…

I was 24 weeks pregnant when I learned I developed a bilateral pulmonary embolism (PE). I had been suffering from shortness of breath but had no other symptoms. Blood clots aren’t in the family, and I am young, fit and healthy, so my midwife was certain I wouldn’t have this condition.   She referred me…