Kara, who survived the “perfect storm” that led to a life-threatening blood clot, shares her story.
February of 2021 I went to work and began to have horrible pain in my shoulder. I brushed it off as my purse being too heavy. The next day I was spending time with a friend and, six hours later, I was rushed to the emergency room. While I went to urgent care to have my “pulled muscle” examined, I was fortunate to have a wonderful doctor who took the time to do a D-dimer blood test and stay late at the hospital to share my test results with me.
When the results came in, I learned that my clotting proteins were elevated by three times the normal level. This signaled that I had a blood clot. A few hours later, I learned that I had six clots in my right lung. If I hadn’t made the trip to the emergency room, as I was told, I probably wouldn’t have lived to see the next day.
My doctors say that my case was like a perfect storm. There were a combination of risk factors involved: I recently had surgery, recently had COVID, was using hormonal birth control, and have a family history of clotting.
The doctors were unable to pinpoint the precise reason for my clot. Therefore, I’ll have to be monitored for the rest of my life. I spent months on medications and in therapy so that I can feel safe and healthy again.
Seeing the stories of other young women on the Rowan Foundation’s website brings me comfort. It has helped me realize that other young women have shared this experience and I am not alone.
