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PE

I Will Never Take Breathing For Granted Again: Judy’s Story

It all began at the beginning of August 2021. I had been having a cough, pain between my shoulder blades, shortness of breath, and fatigue. I assumed at the time that it was a virus since my granddaughter had just had that. On Saturday, August 7, I became extremely short of breath while in the…

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I Could Never Have Imagined a Diagnosis Like This: Carlie’s Story

In May 2024, a few days after delivering my first child via C-section, I began to feel heavy-chested and winded after doing very little, like walking and showering. I had already been discharged as a patient, but my son was in the NICU, so we were staying across the hall in the hospital. I really…

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Nobody Should Have to ‘Just Deal’ with Bleeding: Meghan’s Story

In February of 2020, I had recently gotten married, and the world was about to shut down. I developed unbearable chest pain and shortness of breath that I ignored for a week before finally going to the emergency room. It turned out that I had a massive pulmonary embolism. I was in shock, wondering how…

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You’re Not a Prisoner of this Experience: Rhonda’s Story

At 39, I walked into a local emergency room with what I later learned were textbook symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). I was late into the first trimester of pregnancy, and my left leg had been bothering me for several days—starting as a crampy, achy feeling and quickly turning into…

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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…

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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…

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I Still Deal With PTSD From Thinking I Could Have Left My Children Motherless: Victoria’s Story

Towards the end of my fourth pregnancy, I felt many random aches and pains. My loved ones would write it off, saying it was likely due to being pregnant with my first son. The day after a wedding, I told my doctor I woke up with a terrible charley horse going down my leg. She…

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Do All You Can to Prevent Clots During Travel: Misty’s Story

In July 2023, our 16-year-old daughter passed away. Later that year, a work trip offered a chance to travel to Hawaii, and I thought it would be a good break for us. We traveled from Virginia to Maui in December. The flights were very long, and I tried not to get out of my seat…

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Living With Blood Clots Has Left Me Feeling Isolated and Misunderstood: Kevin’s Story

Not long ago, I faced a medical nightmare that nearly ended my life. It wasn’t just one issue — it was a total breakdown of my body from the inside out. It started with unbearable chest pain, shortness of breath, and intense abdominal pressure. I went to three different hospitals before I was treated. The…

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I Wasn’t Expected to Live: Michael’s Story

In 2014, I was having pain in my stomach. I went to a local doctor and he told me it was my gallbladder. I weighed around 380 pounds at the time. I was scheduled for the operation, but I knew something wasn’t right a couple days before. On April 14, I had my surgery. Afterwards…

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