Travel
You’re Never Too Young to be Diagnosed with a Blood Clot: Maudi’s Story
My story starts on a fun family trip to New York City. The first day after our flight, I woke up with the most painful muscle cramp in my left calf. I stretched and walked it off throughout the day, and the pain subsided for a few hours. I went three more days of stretching…
Travel, Mild Dehydration and Chronic Inflammation Caused My PE: Rachel’s Story
The day after I returned from a trip to Los Angeles, I suddenly felt like I was having a panic attack. I tried all my usual tricks, but it would not go away. I do have health anxiety, and since I had just traveled, I decided to get checked out. I drove myself to the…
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…
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…
As a Nurse, I Knew Something Was Very Wrong: Donna’s Story
From January to mid-April, I traveled weekly from New Jersey to California for work. I’ve never felt any pain in my legs, and I always tried to move them during flights. On May 4, I drove from New Jersey to my daughter’s home in Maryland, about a four-hour drive. I stopped for a break after…
Go Directly to the Emergency Room if you Have Any Symptoms: Lucy’s Story
I’m a three-time deep vein thrombosis survivor. My story starts during my first pregnancy. I experienced bleeding during the first and second trimesters and the baby was same for gestational age. I tried to get the obstetrician to look into it, to no avail. For my second pregnancy, I had emergency C-section. The baby’s heartbeat…
My Blood Clots Were Provoked by Travel and Pregnancy: Kayley’s Story
At 30 weeks pregnant, we took a road trip 10 hours away. We drove through the night, and I slept the entire drive. On our way back, I got an excruciatingly sharp calf pain and started crying. I called my midwife and she said it was from dehydration. A week went by. My leg turned…
I’m More Present and More Grateful: Brandon’s Story
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…
This Experience Transformed My Life: Nina’s Story
I was on a business trip to Scotland when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest during pre-dinner drinks. I began to feel dizzy and had difficulty breathing. I thought it might be anxiety caused by dehydration and not having eaten that day. A taxi was arranged for me to return to my…
I Continue to be Gaslit: Stephanie’s Story
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…
