PART 1
Friends or Family of Blood Clot Survivors CAN ALSO DO ANYTHING!
This is the time of the year when the inspiration is abundant from both camps...
Blood Clot Survivors and Friends or Family of Blood Clot Survivors join together wearing the CLOT BUSTER #StopTheClot polka-dots while running in the iconic NYC Marathon.
But this effort is not only about running it also about raising funds to support the great work that STOPTHECLOT.org is doing everyday. Take a look at the team's fundraising page...
On this edition of the Athlete of the Month post I would like to highlight part of the 2019 volunteers who will be taking part on this iconic race representing the CLOT BUSTER #StopTheClot polka-dots. Each of these runners have an unique reason as to why they are running which can provide a great of inspiration to us all.
Read on and get inspired!
Perhaps next year you can consider joining Team #StopTheClot to participate in the experience of our life while running through the streets of NYC!
Here we go BRITTANY...
"When I was a sophomore in college I woke up at 4am one night with an intense sharp pain in my abdomen and chest. Thinking I was having a muscle spasm from a work out earlier that day, I loaded up on Advil and tried to sleep it off. A day later I found myself in the emergency room and after a few ultrasounds, x-rays, and cat scans, I was admitted to the ICU with a pulmonary embolism. For those who do not know, a pulmonary embolism is a condition where one or more arteries in the lungs are blocked by a blood clot. At 19 years old, I didn’t understand why this was happening. I was a healthy, fit and young college student and overnight found myself to be the youngest patient on the ICU floor.
After further testing, I was diagnosed with Factor V Leiden, a genetic blood disorder, which makes me prone to clotting. The combination of flying for spring break trips, birth control pills, and my unknown blood clotting gene created the perfect storm. I am thankful for my parents who pushed me to go to the ER and for my doctors whose immediate attention and care is why I am still here today. I feel compelled to share my story with others and help educate those, like me, who knew so little about blood clots until I experienced first hand."
Here you go CHRISTY...
"When I was 25 years old, my mom passed away very quickly and tragically from a Pulmonary embolism. This is a blood clot that had traveled from her leg into her lungs.She had just had a simple outpatient surgery and two days later she was gone. We were extremely close and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t miss her.
Over the years, I have always wanted to do something to honor my mom and raise awareness to blood clots. The New York City Marathon has always been on my bucket list and I know that this would be an amazing way to honor my mom who has been such an influential person in my life."
Over the years, I have always wanted to do something to honor my mom and raise awareness to blood clots. The New York City Marathon has always been on my bucket list and I know that this would be an amazing way to honor my mom who has been such an influential person in my life."
Here you THOMAS...
"My name is Thomas and a significant portion of my life has been dedicated to running and being in the best shape and health possible. However, on 10/21/2018* I woke up with a cramping pain in my rib cage and upper back that would change my life forever. It turns out I had a blood clot in my lungs aka a pulmonary embolism. I went from being in the best shape I had been in years to not being able to walk down a hallway without getting out of breath. My primary care doctor was in shock when they recieved the report from the hospital saying I had a pulmonary embolism and that it happened to someone so young and in good health up to that point. Since then I have fought hard to get back to where I was before the embolism. I still get dizzy often and have about half the energy I had before, but I'm fighting every day to get back to where I was before I got sick. Since it's considered an unprovoked embolism meaning they do not know what exactly caused it I am on anti coagulants(medicine that keeps your blood from clotting normally) indefinitely.
The NYC marathon has been on my bucket list for a while now and when I saw that I had the opportunity to run for Team Stop the Clot almost exactly a year after my pulmonary embolism I had to give it a shot. Nothing would mean more to me than showing myself that this embolism didn't beat me by running a marathon in the Big Apple almost exactly a year after it happened.
One silver lining of all of this is that I found a race team to represent in Team Stop the Clot and I now don the Red Polka dots of the Clot Busters for every race I run. Another reason is because I want to raise awareness about blood clots and blood clot related illnesses and their symptoms. I waited almost 4 days to go to the hospital because I had no idea what was happening to me. I thought I was just sore from doing pushups, and when it got worse I thought that I had broken my ribs or something. It wasn't until it felt like I was being stabbed while driving to my parents house that I decided to go to the ER. So I would like to use my running, something that the pulmonary embolism almost took away from me, to raise awareness about the symptoms and hopefully give people information that could save their life or the life of someone they love. This has taught me what is important in my life: My wife Allison who has been my ride or die through all of this, my pets, my family, the runners I coach, and just being able to run, something I took for granted until I could barely walk without losing my breath. I hope you will consider donating to this cause and educating yourself on the symptoms and risks of blood clots."
Can't wait to see these runners in their very own polka-dots running down the streets of NYC.
Next month we will get to meet the rest of the crew of volunteers that are part of the Team StopTheClot.
Without a question their tenacity and dedication is very much appreciated!
Here is wishing the team the best of luck with what is left of their training and the race itself. This is an experience they WILL NEVER FORGET.
Thank you for reading,
The Clot Buster
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