[Originally posted - Horse & Hound July 2020]
A rider who spent three weeks in hospital with severe blood clots has warned others to be aware of the life-threatening condition.
Becky Read suffered deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism some six weeks ago and was lucky she did not lose her leg — or her life.
Becky told H&H she first noticed issues a fortnight before she was admitted to hospital; she had been training for a half-marathon but found herself very short of breath on short runs. She was also experiencing muscle pains.
“A couple of days later, I woke up in the night, in the worst pain I’d ever experienced,” she said. “It was as if someone was stabbing me, on the whole right side of my torso; I was screaming in pain.”
Becky called 111 and was told Covid-19 can cause muscle pains so she had a test, which was negative. She and her partner were told to self-isolate in case the test was inaccurate, but she experienced more severe muscle pains, nausea, confusion and light-headedness over the next few days.