Pulmonary Embolism- My Story

Over the past few weeks I have been experiencing shortness of breath and trouble breathing, even when walking very short distances. I first thought it was COVID, but received 2 negative test results. I then was diagnosed with bronchitis by my PCP via televisist (I had all the symptoms). I took medicine for bronchitis, started feeling better and could breathe easier after about a week. I felt almost back to normal until Saturday morning. Friday night I was experiencing leg pain that felt like a pulled muscle. My leg had felt this way once about a week or so before but I thought nothing of it; maybe I had injured it playing kickball. I was up all night Friday night due to the uncomfortability of my leg, which led me to be a tad late to Cal's baseball game on Saturday morning. As I was walking into the ballpark, I got really out of breath. I was only about 1/3 of the way to the field so I stopped and stood over to the side of the sidewalk. This did not seem unusual to me since I had been experiencing shortness of breath for a few weeks now. While standing there I started seeing black and stars and lost my balance, stumbling all over the sidewalk. People had stopped and were asking me if I was okay, but I did not have the breath or ability to answer them. After stumbling across the sidewalk I was able to find the ground and sit down, where several people were standing over me. They helped me call my mom and my parents came running. After catching my breath, I told my mom about my leg pain and why I was late getting to the game, she was immediately worried and took me to the ER at Baylor. In the ER they noticed that my oxygen levels were low and my heartrate was elevated to a resting speed of about 120. A CT scan showed a blood clot on my lungs, aka a pulmonary embolism. The ER doctor said they would keep me overnight for a couple of days to monitor my oxygen and heart. They would put me on blood thinners which would dissolve the clot over the next few weeks. If they found it to be necessary they said they might end up doing one of two procedures. The first and more preferable option was to enter through IVs in my groin to suction out the clot. The second option was to enter through IVs in my neck and apply a slow drip medication to dissolve the clot over 12 hours, which would only be done if the clot was discovered to be more severe. After more tests, another blood clot was discovered in my leg which explained the pain I had been feeling. When I got moved out of the ER and into a normal hospital room, another doctor came in to do a sonogram on my heart just to be safe. My dad and I thought the heart monitor was showing my heart rate down to about 97-99, which was a major improvement. We later discovered that 97-99 was actually my oxygen level (which is great) but the monitor was not showing my heart rate, which was actually about 155. After getting the results of the heart sonogram back and realizing my heart rate was even more elevated, the doctor came back in and said that this is more serious than they could initially tell from the CT. The blood clot was right in the middle of my chest, putting pressure on my heart and making it work overtime- hence the 155 heartrate. They would need to do the procedure that evening, and it would be the one through my neck, which is called an EKOS. Because the doctor that would perform this procedure was not working on Saturday, they had to call him in from home so they estimated it would be around midnight or later. The doctor came quickly and they took me down at around 8:00. I spent the night in ICU after the procedure and had to keep the IVs with the slow drip medication in my neck for 12 hours, which meant that I could hardly move. I wasn't able to eat for about 28 hours and was not able to use the bathroom for about 20 hours (I was scared of the external catheter lol). Around lunch time on Sunday, once the IVs were removed from my neck, I was finally able to order lunch and use the bathroom.

Shortly after I was moved to a regular hospital room in the cardiac unit where I stayed for 2 more nights. I saw several doctors, had my blood drawn 15 times or more, and continued to wear a heart monitor and had an IV drip of heparin. On the third day I got off the IV and onto oral blood thinners, which I will have to take for 3-6 months. My heart rate started slowing down, and rested in between 80-90. I was able to walk around, use the bathroom on my own, and finally take a shower on Monday. I even did a walking test around the floor to see how my heart rate and oxygen levels were holding up.

The number one suspected cause of my clotting is the oral contraceptives I was taking to regulate my menstrual cycle, which I will no longer be taking. I still have a long road ahead of me, the pain in my leg is still pretty severe and my blood thinners are pretty intense with lots of side effects. The blood thinners should help break up the clot in my leg and it should feel better within a few weeks or months. In February I will see a hematologist to be tested for any underlying conditions or blood diseases. I am very thankful for the people who helped me at Cal's baseball game, and for my mom's instincts to take me to the ER. If it were just me I would not have gone to the ER until it got much worse. Thank you to all of the amazing staff at Baylor Scott & White, the care was incredible. Thank you to everyone who reached out, prayed for me, sent me a gift or a card, it really means a lot! And thank you to both of my parents who stayed with me in the hospital, even overnight to ease my nerves and keep me company.