My name is Andrew.
In Dec 2017 I was hit by a car, mainly soft tissue damaged, but a few weeks later I was experiencing pain in the back of my right leg just below the knee, this is where I had caught it on a wall or branch part of the bush I was pushed into by the car.
I spoke to the GP surgery in regards to this and they just advised take more pain killers. They ignored the fact it was hot and swollen.
Mid January the pain became unbearable I was using a crutch again. Went back and was told the same thing, muscle damage keep taking pain killers.
I didn’t trouble my GP again just kept taking the pain killers. However I started to get out of breath doing the simplest task and then on 8th March 2018, I collapsed at work.
The ambulance said it would be up to four hours so I was taken to the GP across the road. I was seen very quickly but the GP said due to my type of work, (police staff) it was a panic attack gave me beta blockers and told me to go home.
Two days later still feeling awful (light-headed, crushing feeling, heavy breathing), I presented at minor injuries. They rushed me to ICU with a sub massive saddled PE and a DVT in the right leg. I also had a further 21 embolisms and clots.
I spent 15 days in hospital and will be on anticoagulation for life. All because previous doctors had failed to recognise a DVT.
It’s now three years on, I’m 36 years of age, ex mountain walking, outdoor sports junky who is now over weight and needing a stick to walk most days.
I have tried to ask the GP team to train staff on DVTs but all I get back is, ‘they are highly trained in all medical needs and yours was just an oversight as you were young and healthy.’
It’s such a horrible thing to go through, and now over three years on I am still having to have surgery, pain management, hospital appointments, plus so much more impact on family and life!