Chelsey
On October 26, 2022, I went downstairs to my basement and felt a heaviness in my chest. I reached the bottom step and felt like I had just run a marathon. I tried to sit down, but the next thing I knew, I had blacked out and woke up on my basement floor.
I called for my family members, who were all upstairs. Panic set in as I realized something was very wrong—I was no longer in harmony with my body. As my dad drove me to the emergency room, I was in and out of consciousness. Every breath felt like it could be my last.
In the ER, I was transferred to the ICU, where tests revealed I had suffered a massive bilateral pulmonary embolism with heart and respiratory failure. Doctors intubated me and administered a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to break up the clots in my lungs. Meanwhile, due to the damage to my heart, doctors prepared for surgery if the tPA failed. My parents were informed there was a high chance I wouldn’t survive.
Thankfully, with time, the tPA worked, breaking up the clots, and I was placed on a continuous Heparin drip.
On a random Wednesday, my life changed in a frightening and devastating way—but also in a miraculous one. The love and support I felt from my family, friends, and church members, along with their prayers and encouragement, gave me hope. My incredible team of doctors made careful and critical decisions that saved my life.
To this day, I don’t know what triggered the event. I had no warning signs. I was on a low dosage of estrogen for severe monthly cramps and worked a remote desk job, but given the severity of my clots, doctors are unsure these were direct causes. Extensive testing ruled out any protein or factor mutations. I’m left without clear answers, but for now, I’m on a long-term blood thinner while we continue searching for the cause.
Why I’m Sharing This Story
I want to use this experience as an opportunity to raise awareness about clotting issues, especially the devastation that can occur with a pulmonary embolism. It can happen to anyone, at any time, at any age.
I was 31 years old when it happened to me.