March is Blood Clot Awareness month! As most of you know, I was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolisms on August 4, 2016 as an otherwise healthy 24-year-old. But that was almost three years ago, so why do I continue to do these fundraisers? *One person dies every six minutes from clots. *Blood clots kill more than AIDS, car accidents, and breast cancer COMBINED. *Though many clots are preventable, fewer than one in four people know the signs and symptoms. *It could've been me. While the physical side effects from that day have mostly gone away, the emotional ones caused by having doctors being surprised I'm alive, and calling my fiancé in tears from my ER bed to come quick, thinking I would not be here to have our wedding, are with me every day, and will be for life. So will the anxiety that comes with every leg pain. But most importantly, this changed my perspective - every day above ground is a great day! My clots were caused by hormonal birth control as well as a genetic predisposition for thrombosis, so this is something I've had to learn to live with, but these are NOT the only risk factors. Some clots are random. Regardless of age, race, gender, or even physical fitness level, we’re ALL at risk. It could be you. Do YOU know the signs? I didn’t. Please help me fundraise for this cause and consider donating to the National Blood Clot Alliance to help them continue their mission of advancing the prevention, early diagnosis and successful treatment of life-threatening blood clots such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and clot-provoked stroke. One person is killed by a clot every six minutes. In the time it took you to read this, we’ve lost at least one. It could have been me. But I’m a survivor. Visit us at www.stoptheclot.org for additional information on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from blood clots. I will be fundraising through June 1, 2019.