My story starts in March 2020 when I underwent a medical termination in hospital. The termination went wrong and I ended up needing medical intervention and two blood transfusions. Fast forward a week later and I’ve got terrible back pain, and pelvic pain. I completely ignored this as I thought nothing of it and didn’t think at all it could be symptoms of a DVT. Two days passed and the pain was so excruciating in my leg and groin that I couldn’t walk, it wasn’t until then that I checked my leg to notice it was bright red and completely swollen.

I completely ignored this as I thought nothing of it and didn’t think at all it could be symptoms of a DVT

I still had no idea that it could be a blood clot as I knew nothing about them, only that my biological father had a blood clot in his leg and back a few years ago. I got an emergency appointment with my GP who sent me straight to my local hospital. They examined me but had to send me home in the early hours of a Friday morning to return for a CT scan at 11am that same day.

By the time I was due to return to hospital I could barely walk

By the time I was due to return to hospital I could barely walk, each step felt like I was dragging my leg along and had me in tears at every movement. Once I finally reached hospital and had my scan it was apparent that I was in serious danger. I had a DVT that started in my left calf, travelling up my leg in two veins, going up to my groin, in my pelvis, round into my back and stopped at the top of my other thigh.

I am only 22 years of age and I have two young kids at home

The doctor sat me down and explained just what a life threatening situation I was in, and I completely broke down. I am only 22 years of age and I have two young kids at home, one of which only has me as a parent.

I was to receive radiological intervention to try and save my life

The local hospital sent me straight to Colchester hospital where I was to receive radiological intervention to try and save my life. However, this was complicated as I still had an ongoing PV bleed from my termination. It was at this point the doctors realised I had an infection in my uterus due to the procedure I had. I had to have five days of IV antibiotics to control this, and they couldn’t start thrombolysis until this bleeding had stopped.

As if that wasn’t enough, I had to undergo tests for Covid-19 as my temperature spiked, thankfully all tests were clear.

During my time in hospital I developed a pulmonary embolism

During my time in hospital I developed a pulmonary embolism in which some of the blood clot broke off and travelled into my lungs causing me some difficulty in breathing. After some oxygen and constant blood thinners through an IV drip, the doctors managed to control this.

Finally, my thrombolysis could start, after two days of treatment the doctors had to tell me the news that the surgery wasn’t working and there wasn’t much they could do for me. The clot wasn’t breaking down at all, and other than blood thinners there was nothing else they could do. I did go down for my third surgery and by some miracle the clots had started to break down and I had recovered 70% blood flow in one vein but only 50% in the other. At last, some positive news.

The doctors then made the decision that they were going to carry on treatment for a fourth day, which carried some risks like bleeding, but might also make a difference to my clots. Together we also had to try and make the decision about whether or not to put a stent into my main artery to widen it so that the blood could travel through easier.

Finally, the fourth day of surgery was a success. The clots had broken down even more and I didn’t need to have a stent put in. After a few more days recovering in hospital I was able to go home with strict instructions that that I was to wear thigh high compression stockings 24/7 for two weeks, and that I was to be on a course of anticoagulants for three months. Before these three months are up, I am to return to hospital to see if the blood thinners can stop or if I need to be medicated for the rest of my life.

it was also found out my biological father has a gene mutation called Factor 5 Leiden

With further investigation it was also found out that my biological father has a gene mutation called Factor 5 Leiden which makes it much more likely for me to develop DVTs, this gene mutation is hereditary and turns out I inherited. If I had known about this then maybe I would have researched some more about thrombosis and I would have recognised that my life was in serious danger. I am recovering slowly at home. I cannot have my kids by myself as when I stand for too long my leg still swells up. I cannot walk far at all and find it hard to do small day to day tasks. However, I am lucky to be alive today and I have the staff at Colchester hospital to thank for saving my life.