During the transplant recovery process, I developed a few issues along the way. One issue I had during this process was blood clots. Some people are more likely to have the issue than others and I happen to be one of them. It seemed like every time I would take two steps forward I would take six back.
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Over a course of a couple of days, I started not to feel well. I was very winded and so weak feeling it started scaring me. I started having pains around the bottom right rib on my right side. It wasn’t long before I started having trouble inflating my lungs without pain. The pain even made it difficult to sit up or rollover. I felt so bad I told my boyfriend I wasn’t sure I was going to live through this.
A few hours later I went to the bathroom and became very lightheaded. I almost completely passed out just sitting on the toilet. My sister called 911 to transport me to the emergency room.
At the hospital, they evaluated me for dehydration and decided to keep me because my oxygen level was low and I was in pain. Over the course of the night, my oxygen level kept dropping pretty rapidly which worried my doctors. I was losing my ability to breathe on my own. They transferred me to ICU to monitor my oxygen.
They felt I had a blood clot in my lung but because of my kidney numbers when they took my bloodwork they didn’t want to put me through a cat scan with a dye that could cause even more issues with my kidneys. They decided to give me blood thinners and monitor my kidneys.
It wasn’t long afterward my breathing started to get better and my need for oxygen started to improve. When my oxygen need became less scary they moved me to the BMT floor of the hospital for the rest of my stay.
When my breathing was back in normal range they released me back to the hotel.
It was only a matter of a few days before I became lightheaded again but this time I actually passed out on the toilet. Again, my sister called 911.
Once back to the hospital they treated me for dehydration and other electro light issues. When they did my bloodwork this time my kidneys were in the normal range, so they scheduled the cat scan to take a look at my lungs.
The cat scan showed multiple blood clots in both lungs. So they were right just they were surprised I had more than one. Luckily, they were already treating me for the clots and it was just a matter of time for them to dissolve.
No wonder it was hard to breathe and I felt so bad. Blood clots are very dangerous in the lungs and I could have easily died. My physical therapist told me I was lucky I didn’t. I told her I’m here for a reason. For some reason, God wants me still on Earth. I wasn’t wrong when I told my boyfriend I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not. The pain and the difficulty breathing scared me to death.
Even tho it’s been months since I developed the clots I’m still on blood thinners to prevent additional clots to form. I’m currently on shots for this but hoping to change over to pill form soon. My poor stomach is covered in black and blue marks all over it. Plus shots aren’t the most pleasant things to have to give yourself.
Do you have issues with clots forming? I also have them in my lower legs which causes swelling in my legs. But that’s another story for a different day.
Drop me a comment below with your story!
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