An East Lancashire sportswoman is urging people to look out for the symptoms of Deep Vein Thrombosis after suffering a life-changing episode of the condition.
Hockey player Diane Calvert, from Burnley, had a routine knee operation in 2012 to repair her cartilage and clean out her left knee ready for a ligament transplant following an injury.
But she then had a serious thrombosis, or blood clot, which has left her on blood thinning drugs for life.
She is now raising awareness of the symptoms of the condition during DVT month from March 1 to 31
The morning after her operation Ms Calvert had two red and hot pinpricks on her shin. On day four, she started to experience flu-like symptoms then her lower leg became red and her ankle swelled up.
Despite being unable stand up for more than 10 seconds and exhausted she thought it was linked to her operation and decided to wait until her follow-up appointment three weeks later.
Then her consultant told her she had a serious DVT stretching from her ankle right up to her abdomen and was prescribed injected anti-coagulants.
She now has to take the medication for the rest of her life.