Filter Patient Stories by tags…

Misdiagnosed

I’m Hoping For a Better Outcome: Saru’s Story

I had my blood first clot at 26. I visited a doctor, but they couldn’t diagnose it, saying it would fade with time. After two months, it did fade. At 28, when I was newly married and planning a baby, I got red bumps on my calves. I tried lymphatic exercises for two months, but…

Read the full story

Don’t Accept a Diagnosis if Your Intuition Tells You Different: Jasmine’s Story

When I was 32 years old, I experienced terrible pain behind my knee for weeks. My doctor said it’s from standing, and I need physical therapy. I did that, but the pain persisted. Eventually, I went to a vascular surgeon who did vein stripping surgery. Seven days post-op, I felt sick, like the flu, but…

Read the full story

I Feel Lucky to Have Gotten a Second Chance at Living: Kara’s Story

In May 2021, I was experiencing extreme perimenopausal hot flashes, and hormone replacement therapy wasn’t helping, so I started estrogen-based birth control. Things were improving until one day, I lost my breath while vacuuming. I sat down and thought I might have caught Covid, but I started feeling better, so I got back up, but…

Read the full story

I Listened to My Body and Begged For Answers: Carrie’s Story

On April 4, 2025, I awoke around 4:30 a.m. with the worst charley horse under my left breast, wrapping around to my back and up my arm. I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with abdominal pain and sent home with naproxen. Two days later, I returned to the ER with worsening pain…

Read the full story

This Experience Has Instilled a Deep Sense of Gratitude: Karla’s Story

On October 29, 2024, I began experiencing persistent pain in my right calf. The discomfort was significant enough that, five days later, I drove myself to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, no blood work was conducted, and the ultrasound performed on my leg was brief and inconclusive. I was diagnosed with a muscle cramp and advised…

Read the full story

We Hope Jason’s Story Saves Lives

I’m Jason Armitage’s mother, Faye. I’m writing this because he is severely disabled: paralyzed from the nose down and speech impaired. Blood clots in young people often get misdiagnosed and symptoms are routinely dismissed, as was the case when we visited the ER after a soccer game with then-7-year-old Jason. He had collided …

Read the full story

Listening to Your Body Could Save Your Life: Kamisha’s Story

I’ve been living with DVTs and PEs since the age of 15 when my calf pain was misdiagnosed as arthritis. I’ve never taken birth control and, to my knowledge, there is no family history of clotting disorders. I’m now 46, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many blood clots I’ve had—including a saddle PE.…

Read the full story

I Had to Learn to Trust That the Medication is Working: Kacey’s Story

I took oral birth control starting at age 18 until 33, when I got pregnant. I delivered twin boys by C- section in May 2024 and resumed taking the same birth control shortly after. In September 2024, I noticed my left leg was swollen and began turning a dark red/purple color. I went to the hospital…

Read the full story

Her Life Was Just Beginning, Then It Ended: Faith and Heather’s Story

As told by her sister, Heather. I experienced a blood clot. I survived. My sister didn’t. Around Thanksgiving of 2020, my 18-year-old sister Faith began complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath, and then she passed out at work. Over the next three days, my parents took her to the doctor three times, where…

Read the full story

Awareness Could Have Saved My Sister’s Life: Brenda and Vanessa’s Story

As told by her sister, Vanessa Brenda passed away on January 10, 2025, at 36. After almost three months of waiting, our family finally learned the cause of her death: pulmonary embolism due to lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. I’d heard of this condition before but never thought someone her age could be affected. The…

Read the full story