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In October 2024, I began experiencing mild discomfort in my left calf. Over the next few months the pain gradually worsened, especially when stretching my leg or flexing my foot — feeling like a Charley horse was about to occur. I assumed it was dehydration or stair use. My family did as well. We did…

I Thought I Was Just Getting Older The official date I use for my blood clot story is July 27, 2020—the day I was admitted to the hospital. Looking back, though, the story really started weeks earlier. It was the summer of 2020, just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Around the same time,…

It was the spring of 2021. I was running like I usually do, training pretty much every day. I run quite a bit for my profession and to train for marathons and ultra distance marathon trail races, mainly, but also road marathons. It was April and I had some slight back pain — actually that…

In early 2025 I was pregnant with my third baby and began feeling breathless and tight chested at around 17 weeks pregnant. I knew it wasn’t my asthma as my reliever inhaler didn’t help. I mentioned it to a GP who told me it was the pregnancy, but I hadn’t experienced this with my previous…

In February 2014, shortly after giving birth prematurely to my twin sons at the age of 34, I developed severe back pain. For about a week, I continued to go about my daily activities despite the symptoms. The pain and swelling were especially severe during physical activity and less noticeable at rest. Within days, my…

Around late February 2026, a few days after one of my collegiate rugby games, I started to feel a cramping feeling in my calf. I thought it was just cramping from the game or dehydration. I was having shortness of breath doing just basic things like walking up a flight of stairs. I went to…

I’m 28, healthy, active, go to the gym 4–5 times a week, and I almost died from a pulmonary embolism. It started after a long flight back from the USA. I felt like I had the flu, sore throat, fatigue, the usual. One morning, I woke up with a sharp back pain and suddenly could…

How do you even begin to explain one of the most terrifying, traumatic experiences of your life? It started with a cough that just wouldn’t go away. At first, I figured it was something mild that would pass. But instead of improving, things slowly began to change. I was getting more tired, out of breath…

I started feeling unwell on Friday, January 10, and assumed I had the flu. I took over-the-counter medications and felt better the next day. On Saturday, I got up, got dressed, picked up my granddaughter, and went about my day. At one point, I bent over to throw a piece of trash away—and suddenly, it…

Around 9:10 on Saturday, December 13, while getting ready to go out for the day with my family, I suddenly had intense chest pain and collapsed at home. My two teenagers were still in bed and my three-year-old was running around. The last thing I remember is him shouting, “Mummy it’s not sleep time.” Around…