March Athlete of the Month

MARCH is BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH!

MARCH is BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH!

MARCH is BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH!

MARCH is BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH!

MARCH is BLOOD CLOT AWARENESS MONTH!

This is the month to step it up and really push the awareness for this cause.

STOPTHECLOT.org is doing a FANTASTIC job promoting #BCAM (Blood Clot Awareness Month) and I am very much enjoying all of the valuable information that is being shared. Also, the personal stories that are being posted for sure are galvanizing this month of awareness. Every story counts because it can help with inspiration and with guidance that can help someone down road as they relate to the story. It is so important for these stories to be shared far and wide.

BLOOD CLOT SURVIVORS CAN DO ANYTHIING!

I keep debating as to to which stories to share for this month's featured athlete because all the stories matter. I decided to get started with SHERRYE's story and I hope that if you are reading you can relate and hopefully find the inspiration you need to overcome the challenges of your own blood clotting incident. It is not going to be easy but YOU WILL GET THROUGH it because you ARE NOT ALONE in this journey.

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 the correct doctors.  

In June of 2021, my husband and I took a three-hour drive from Connecticut to Boston. This was three weeks after I started birth control to treat uterine fibroid symptoms. I had asked my doctors about blood clot risks since I am 48, but they said I wasn’t at risk because I didn’t smoke.  

We arrived on a Friday night. When I woke up Saturday morning, I had a very sharp pain in my right calf and found it difficult to walk, but I had no swelling. I immediately thought it was a blood clot since I knew the symptoms, but decided to see how it progressed. I made a decision that I think truly helped me. I decided to walk all six miles of the Freedom Trail in Boston. If I had stayed in bed because of the pain, things could have been worse.  

The calf pain didn’t subside, so as soon as I got home, I went to urgent care. The doctor said since there was no swelling, she didn’t think it was a blood clot and gave me a muscle relaxer. She performed no diagnostics.  

The pain spread down to my heel, so the following week, I went to a podiatrist. I asked if it could be a blood clot, but I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Again, I was misdiagnosed.   

The pain kept increasing. I saw an orthopedic specialist the following week. He said I had sciatica, even though he did a back x-ray and it came back as negative. He insisted that I did not have a blood clot and told my husband, “Your wife knows too much.” He gave me a prescription for cortisone and physical therapy. Diagnostic test for sciatica only.  

The physical therapist was the first person to take my symptoms seriously. I was having severe leg pain throughout my entire leg by then. She said that I wasn’t presenting with sciatica and that my leg was indeed slightly swollen and warm. She asked me to go back to the ortho and request an ultrasound.   

I immediately went back and saw a different doctor. He said I was already told that it was sciatica and not a blood clot. I said I’d like to have an ultrasound anyway. He couldn’t get me in that night but would ask the vein specialist to see me the next day.  

That was the most important visit of my life! I was diagnosed with an abdomen-to-ankle DVT with three fully occluded veins in my upper thigh. The birth control and car ride were thought to have contributed to the clot. 

Since then, I acquired a new team of doctors who I trust with my life, I’ve had a hysterectomy, I’ve been off of anticoagulants for a year, and I’ve never been healthier. Keep advocating for your health!  

Indeed you have advocate for yourself.

Ask questions... ALL THE QUESTIONS.

Make requests... to make sure that you have the best care possible along the way. It was save your life!

I have seen countless stories in which the patient had to make the case for their care due to the lack of awareness of the physician. It is an unfortunate situation but it is one that we can overcome with awareness campaigns like BCAM that can bring light to this condition and avoid unfortunate errors in diagnosis. 

Be careful out there.

Thank you for reading,

The Clot Buster