Woman

In 2014, while in podiatry school, I went to the student health center because I felt short of breath and was coughing up blood. The nurse practitioner diagnosed me with bronchitis. I was diagnosed with a saddle pulmonary embolism due to oral contraceptives less than two weeks later. Other factors that increased my risks were…

In February 2021, on a Friday, I noticed that my heart rate was getting high with very little activity. By Monday, I was having chest pains and severe shortness of breath. On Tuesday, I decided to go to the hospital because I was concerned about my heart. After almost passing out multiple times in the…

On Christmas Day, 2017, I was on a flight home to Sydney. I sat in the window seat on the connecting flight from Dubai for 15 hours. A young couple sat beside me, lounging in their seats and sleeping with their legs stretched out. Luckily, I didn’t need the toilet. About 30 minutes before the…

Five days before everything came to light, I sat in a rheumatologist’s office explaining my concerns. Instead of investigating, she dismissed me, chalking it all up to my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. My after-visit summary simply said to “wear spandex-type garments,” and there was no more that rheumatology could do for me. I left feeling unheard and…

After two long months of debilitating headaches and vision problems, I was finally diagnosed in July 2025 with a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), a rare and dangerous clot in the veins that drain the brain, at 24 years old. My first ER trip was in May, when I showed up with stabbing head, neck,…

On October 27, 2024, I was diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). There was a large blood clot taking up the transverse and sigmoid portion of the venous sinus of my brain. I am still dealing with some neurological deficits. My symptoms started while I was working. Looking at the computer screen, numbers and…

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…

I was diagnosed with two left pulmonary emboli on January 22, 2024. I tested positive for Covid one week prior, and I had just started estrogen-based birth control for irregular periods as well. On Sunday, January 21, I started having shortness of breath and left-sided chest pain. I still had a cough from Covid, and…

I was living in Arizona and going to school. I was in a very minor car accident where my knee hit the dashboard. It was bruised, and about two weeks later, I started feeling a painful cramp behind my knee, similar to a charley horse. When I told my primary care doctor, he ordered an…

There was a tingling sensation in my right leg with noticeable swelling, while pain developed in my chest and right side when I took deep breaths. I work as a hairstylist, so tired feet and legs come as no surprise, but this was different. I went to urgent care, and they recommended I go to…