Mental health

Watch a video of Brandon’s story: I had my first blood clot when I was 29. It started as a subtle cramp in my left calf—nothing alarming at first—but it slowly got worse, even with icing and massaging. When I woke up one morning and couldn’t put any weight on it, I knew something was…

In early September 2024, I noticed major swelling in my left leg/ankle but did what any 34-year-old would do — I chalked it up to something I ate that was bad for me. I had massages lined up toward the end of September to make me feel better from other health issues and stress at…

I gave birth to my daughter on March 15, 2022 via C-section. By April 9, I had developed debilitating pain in my right lower extremity, as well as a low-grade fever. I called my doctor, and she stated my pain was sciatica and the fever was not attributed to my recent surgery. My leg didn’t…

I went to the hospital in June 2022 with chest and back pain. The doctor told me I strained something playing softball and needed to lose weight. I was very active in high school and played four varsity sports as a starter. In December 2022, I went back to the ER, where the same doctor…

When I was 18, I was diagnosed with multiple bilateral pulmonary emboli. I was an active young adult, attending university and playing volleyball for my school. I woke up one night not being able to catch my breath and felt crazy amounts of pain in my ribs, upper right quadrant of my abdomen, and back.…

Ah summertime, my favorite time of year. Except last year. Last year, I found myself with sudden side and chest pain, difficulty breathing, inability to fully stand or sit upright, and inability to recline back seated or lay down in any position. Within 24 hours of these symptoms, I went to the doctor. He treated…

In 2021, I was experiencing shortness of breath, blue lips, constant fatigue, and brain fog. I could barely walk up one flight of stairs to my apartment and would collapse at the door many times. My doctor kept saying it was bronchitis and would regularly test for Covid, which always came back negative. I ultimately terminated…

When I was around 23, I started to go to the doctor complaining about persistent, enduring headaches. I was told it was stress. I went to the optician, where I was immediately sent to the emergency eye hospital. I had idiopathic intercranial hypertension, which was causing vision loss due to my optic nerves being forced…

On December 19, 2024, I noticed that my right thigh hurt and was discolored (purple-ish) but dismissed it, thinking that it was just bad circulation that would go away. Later that night, I felt extremely light-headed, my vision went dark and almost passed out. My mom and I rushed to the hospital because something was…

I am a 24-year-old  old active and healthy woman. No real elevated risk factors for clots. I never thought it would be me. I had underwent an ablation, minimally invasive procedure to treat supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is an abnormally fast heart rate originating in the upper chambers of the heart (atria). They said that my SVT…