Travel

I was 23 years old and 40 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy. I was considered high risk because of a cyst cutting the circulation off to my right ovary, and I also had endometriosis. I had a C-section on August 17, 2020. After the surgery, I returned to my hospital room and cuddled up with…

My husband and I are both ultra runners. On June 27 of this year, we were both going for an early morning training run with him starting about five minutes behind me. I had been experiencing shortness of breath for a few weeks before this run. Little things, such as bringing groceries in from the…

I started becoming short of breath around Memorial Day weekend. I’d get winded walking from the parking garage at work to my desk, and walking from my apartment to my car.    Since I had COVID the month before, my doctor thought it could be long COVID and I was given an inhaler.    On June 16,…

I had just gotten over a cold where I was laid up in bed for a few days, so I went for a run to get back on the exercise train. Shortly into my run, I felt an odd pain in my chest and decided to cut it short. The pain worsened over the next…

I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2017. I had a complete hysterectomy followed by the standard six rounds of chemotherapy, after which I had no evidence of disease until February 2021 when I had a recurrence.   I had to undergo six more rounds of chemo, and I also participated in a trial, but…

In September 2007, I had just started my freshman year of college. I had gotten a job at the bookstore, and on my first day, I passed out while folding T-shirts. I had never passed out before so I panicked, called my mom, and went to a local urgent care clinic.    After running a few…

My story is not that I had an extensive deep vein thrombosis (DVT), since this happens to so many of us. My story is that it took me five weeks and five doctors, plus one physical therapist to have my symptoms truly heard and diagnosed. I had even asked all the right questions and pursued…

In the summer of 2019, I was on vacation with my family at Hilton Head Island. On the second night of the trip, I felt an excruciating pain in my chest while lying in bed. Although it was troubling, I decided not to wake my wife or take other action, and the pain passed after…

After a business trip to France followed by a week of mild COVID symptoms, I was eager to get back into my routine. That is, until I started feeling a strange pain in my leg about three weeks later.   I’d recently had a dermatological procedure on that leg, so I thought my stitches might be…

My cousin, who was 22, died of a pulmonary embolism when I was 10 years old. At autopsy, she was found to have protein C resistance, explained by the factor V Leiden mutation. As this mutation is genetic, the whole family was tested. I was found to be a carrier of this mutation, and I…