In 2015, at 32 weeks into my third pregnancy with my first son, I had what I thought was a chest infection combined with an asthma flare up. Walking more than a few feet became unbearable.
Two weeks later, my three-year-old child had a random infection and needed hospitalisation at the major children’s hospital in our community. It was there that doctors noticed I didn’t look well. A medical emergency team or MET call was put out after my oxygen level fell into the 80s. I was then rushed to a nearby major hospital while my little one stayed in the children’s hospital. I underwent a VQ scan, but they couldn’t find anything and sent me back to the children’s hospital.The following day, my scans were reviewed again and multiple bilateral pulmonary embolism or blood clots in my lungs were diagnosed. No cause was identified, other than pregnancy.
Fast forward nine years, and I had a healthy and blood clot free pregnancy, but when I became pregnant again with my third and final baby, another boy, chronic pulmonary emboli were discovered 22 weeks into this pregnancy. I am now nine weeks post partum and diagnosed with CTEPH.
Learn more about blood clots and the life stages women face, including pregnancy, that can increase their risk blood clots: Life Stages and Blood Clots
Learn more about blood clots in general here.
