By Janice Johnson, Special to Everyday Health
When I stepped outside with my Labrador, King Louie, one evening for our usual walk around our rural neighborhood of three years in Round Rock, Texas, I had no idea that I’d soon be headed to the hospital — or that I’d develop life-threatening blood clots blocking my lungs while there.
As we were walking along, King Louie suddenly lunged at a rabbit sprinting from the bushes, taking me in full flight as well. My landing was unforgiving. Because I had the well-worn leash around my wrist, I was thrown unexpectedly and forcefully to the ground.
That night, I ended up in the hospital having emergency surgery for a crushed shoulder, a broken arm, and two cracked ribs.
From Successful Surgery to State of Emergency
The doctors deftly inserted a steel rod to replace my humerus (the upper arm bone), and repaired my shoulder and my brachial plexus nerves. The procedure was deemed so successful that they planned to release me the next morning.
I woke up feeling overwhelmingly exhausted and unable to catch my breath without the aid of an oxygen cannula. I wondered, more than once, whether this was a normal post-surgery state, especially after a three-hour operation. I chalked it up to not handling anesthesia well. After all, I’d been under for a considerable amount of time.
I reasoned that I was in great shape for 57, and I had no fears about bouncing back. In fact, my husband, Reid, and I had just returned from an invigorating trip to six national parks and forests, where we’d hiked almost every day. A committed science teacher for 32 years, I not only enjoyed teaching in the classroom, but also camping in the great outdoors, where the geological landscape is ever-changing.
But now, the tiredness was relentless. Walking just a few short steps to the bathroom had me winded and exhausted. I sank into the hospital room chair, closed my eyes, and yearned for sleep. Something just didn’t feel right.
As the hospital was in the process of releasing me, my nurse requested that the doctor check my oxygen level. Those results teetered on the very low end, so he immediately ordered additional tests. Results confirmed lung blockage, the result of pulmonary embolism (also known as PE) — a condition I knew nothing about.
The Mystery of Blood Clot Symptoms
I have since learned that pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot has traveled through the bloodstream to the lung from elsewhere in the body. Telltale signs of pulmonary embolism include shortness of breath, chest pain, unexplained cough, and rapid heart rate. I only had shortness of breath and, because of my fall, the pain in my chest seemed easy to explain.
Typically, a pulmonary embolism is caused by a blood clot in a deep vein in the leg (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT), which breaks off and travels to the lungs. Together, DVT and PE are known by the medical term venous thromboembolism, or VTE.
I closed my eyes from sheer exhaustion, barely reacting to the diagnosis, which I have since learned was life-threatening. As I entered my deep retreat, I remember thinking of a childhood prayer, “If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Later that afternoon, when I opened my eyes, I found my parents and brothers at the foot of my hospital bed. It was an aha-moment: when I realized how serious my condition was.
My Rehabilitation From Surgery and Blood Clots
More than a year later — a long and arduous year that included rehab for my broken arm and shoulder, blood thinners that required constant monitoring, and an endless schedule of therapy and follow-up visits — I can honestly say that I have made a full recovery.
As a result of my accident and pulmonary embolism, I’ve had more than 152 therapy visits and checkups. Since my dog-walking, rabbit-sprinting mishap, I’ve met many people who’ve shared their emotional stories of loved ones who died from pulmonary embolism. But I have yet to meet one survivor. I don’t take life for granted. I wake up grateful every day.
Why I Campaign for Venous Thromboembolism Awareness
I now go beyond just educating students in my science classroom. I’ve made it my personal mission to educate others about PE, and help empower patients who sometimes feel vulnerable and without a voice in a hospital setting. Up to 60 percent of all VTE cases are hospital-associated, yet VTE is a preventable cause of hospital deaths.
The physician and surgeon community is well aware that PEs are common after surgery, yet my case went undiagnosed for two days. Preventing clots should be, but is not always, the expected standard of care for all hospitalized patients.
You need to stand strong as your own advocate if you’re at risk for a blood clot. You have a voice. Let it be heard, especially when you aren’t feeling right.
If You’re in the Hospital, Ask for a VTE Assessment
As patients and guardians of our loved ones in the hospital, it is our right to ask to have our blood clot risk assessed. And, it’s the health professionals’ and system’s responsibility to act accordingly and do a VTE risk assessment.
Without the vigilance of my husband and the nurse, I would have quietly gone home. But had I known about the signs of pulmonary embolism, and that I was at risk because I was having surgery, I would have said something sooner. Know the signs and symptoms, and share this knowledge with your family and friends. It might just save your life.
Janice Johnson is a science teacher in Round Rock, Texas. She is a staunch advocate for proactively talking to your doctors about blood clot risks.