In late October 2017 I was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolisms (PEs) – blood clots in the deepest parts of my right and left lungs. The night before my diagnosis I woke up and felt excruciating shoulder pain, but repositioned myself in bed and fell back to sleep. The next morning my breathing was painful and my inner voice told me that I might very well have a PE, so I decided to get checked.  Fortunately, the nurse practitioner listened to me describe my symptoms and immediately sent me for a CT scan, which ended up confirming our suspicions and changing my life forever. 

I am one of the lucky ones. 

Sadly, many health professionals and the general public lack awareness of the signs and symptoms of PEs and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – both of which result in more deaths per year than breast cancer, traffic accidents and HIV combined!

I’m not gonna lie; the physical and emotional recovery has not been easy. For someone who ran a marathon 25 days prior to a PE diagnosis, it was hard to comprehend how and why this happened. I felt betrayed by my own body. Walking around a grocery store was initially exhausting. Wondering if one of the clots would move and I wouldn’t wake up in the morning was terrifying. Having two additional issues and surgeries that may or may not have been provoked by the PEs was downright scary. I have had more trips to the ER and my doctor’s office than my medical record can hold. Fortunately, I have come a long way and am starting to feel better and more hopeful each day!

I have a wonderful husband, family and friends who supported me during this difficult time. I also found some amazing resources through the National Blood Clot Alliance that helped me understand my initial diagnosis, my rare blood disorder and how to live my life in a new way. The NBCA also connected me with other people via online discussions who had similar experiences, which has been both informative and inspiring. Thus, part of my healing is to give back to the NBCA.

I couldn’t think of a better way to mark the one-year anniversary of my diagnosis than with a race! The 2018 MCM 10K falls on the weekend of my “clot-iversary” so when the NBCA announced it was fielding a team of runners I knew it was meant to be! Eight months out from my diagnosis I am slowly returning to running. Two miles feels more like 16 miles right now, but I’m determined to regain my strength, train to build my endurance and run this race with all that I have!

Will you support me by making a donation that will help save lives and aid others who have been affected by blood clots? 

Thank you in advance for making a difference,

Jodi