For me it was really tough to not only process but accept this is something
that was actually happening. I didn't know anything about blood clots. I'd never heard
of them before. I hadn't seen girls or boys on my team diagnosed with these before. I didn't know
of anybody diagnosed of them before. The only form of blood clot I was really familiar with
at the time was like strokes I think and some heart attacks. I always thought they occurred in
elderly people or people like really poor lifestyles, which, so I never thought they
would ever happen to me. Someone who was young and physically active. Once I found out I was
first off confused. Like what is a blood clot? I've never heard of those before.
Blood clots are clamps of blood, including protein, is in the blood known as coagulation factors,
platelets and red blood cells which harden over time to stop cuts and wounds from bleeding.
One of the most common types of blood clots in children is what we call deep vein thrombosis or
DVT, which is caused by a blood clot that occurs in a deep venous system. DVT can occur in the Deep
veins of a leg or of an arm when the blood clot fuse the interior of the vein obstructing the
blood flow and causing complications. Another type of blood clot can also happen in the lungs
called pulmonary embolism, which happens when a small piece of a fresh blood clot breaks free
and travels through the veins of the body into the lung, blocking again blood flow to part of
the lung. Blood clots located in the arms and legs or dvts can be accompanied by limb swelling, pain
and changes in the color of the skin making it reddish or bluish. Symptoms of clots in the lungs
for example, pulmonary embolism, would include chest pain and shortness of breath. When I was diagnosed
with my blood clot, I was at the field my family and my legs were hurting a lot and I'm very dizzy.
So we walked home. After a while of me not being able to walk on my leg, my mom took me to SickKids.
It started off with a growing discomfort in my left leg. Mainly during physical activities such as
like running or walking, and as someone who grew up playing sports and participating in like martial
arts for several years, my family and I brushed it off as a sort of like muscle injury. I woke up
one morning with a lot of pain in my leg. My whole life was football at the time, and I had a football
game and I was not missing it for the world. So I kept it quiet and I went and played some football.
But then after the game it didn't get better, it actually got worse.
Eventually, the pain got so bad that I couldn't even like make the walk back home from the bus
stop. I was at rowing practice after a normal day at school, and my arm turned bright blue and got
really swollen.That morning I woke up and my left leg had swollen to around twice I'd say
it's normal size. It would turn a dark purple and it had excruciating pain all along the inside of
my thigh and up into my groin. So we went to the emergency room and after a couple hours of waiting,
ultrasound, blood work. They diagnosed me with a small blood clot. DVT are usually diagnosed by an
image method called ultrasound, which is a medical test that uses sound waves to obtain images of the
structures inside of the body, such as the blood flow through a vein. In some cases, other imaging
tests may be required. To diagnose a pulmonary embolism, a tomography, which is a special type
of x-ray of the lungs, or a ventilation perfusion scan that measures the air and blood supply to the
lungs, might be required. I couldn't go back in time and change what happened. I couldn't pretend like
it wasn't there. It made me extremely scared. I clearly remember standing in the waiting room
with a bunch of strangers around, just my dad and I, and just standing there crying because
I was so scared. The first couple days it was really, really rough. Honestly the first thing running
through my head, and the thing I was most worried about was that I was gonna have to quit my sport.
At the end of the day, there was only really one thing I could do, which was just try and be
as strong as I could to get through this and hope that the people around me would be able to help me.
It really helps to remain positive. As cliche as it sounds. Diagnosis no matter how
bad or how scary it may be is always the first step to recovery. While blood clots may be rare
in children, they do happen. If you think that you have a blood clot because you have a painful and
swollen leg or problems breathing with or without chest pain, please make sure you reach out to your
medical team or visit an emergency room for further evaluation. Please do not feel afraid
to speak up to your health-care provider if you believe you may have a blood clot. And remember
guys, you're not alone. An experienced thrombosis team can help you understand what causes blood
clots, how they are treated and strategies for blood clot prevention in the future.
[Music]