Faye recounts her dramatic experience with life-threatening blood clots during pregnancy. The start of my blood clot journey was very unexpected. I was 34 years old and 32 weeks pregnant.
I was struggling to breathe, but I put it down to pregnancy and the baby sitting high. During a routine appointment at the hospital to discuss my induction date that, I was semt straight to central delivery as soon as the consultant saw me. There, I received oxygen and several scans were conducted. Diagnosis: Arterial thrombosis, bilateral saddle pulmonary embolism with right heart strain. Or, in more simple terms, I had a huge blood clot affecting my lungs and my heart.
To break up the clot, I was administered thrombolytic medication, through my neck into my heart. During my three weeks in the intensive care unit (ICU), I was given different anti-clotting medications. During this time, I developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. My blood platelets had decreased to dangerously low levels.
Life-threatening blood clots
There were times in the ICU when it was unclear if I would survive. The doctors told my husband that they would try to save our baby. However, they also told him that he needed to prepare for the possibility that I might not survive.
On strict bed rest during this time and due to how poorly I was doing, the doctors made the decision not to monitor the baby. As a mum, this was heartbreaking and every day I prayed that he would be okay.
The consultants in the ICU were going to transfer me from Plymouth to a different facility in London to have the clots removed, because they didn’t have the expertise to handle the complexities of my case. However, in the end, they decided that my heart was not strong enough to withstand the stress of that trip and I remained in Plymouth.
Baby and Mom Survive
Thankfully, my baby boy was delivered at 36 weeks and he was okay. I, however, nearly passed away again, and was sent straight back to the ICU for additional monitoring. Knowing the risk of dying, I wrote all three of my children letters for all the special occasions in their lives that I might not be around for.
Today, I am thankful to have survived this experience and to be here for my family and to share my story to help others understand the life-threatening impact of blood clots.
