The pain was crushing, as if a giant hand were squeezing my side and not letting go, I was gasping for breath and the world seemed to be dilating out of view. I wanted to scream, but it came out in a whimper. The world started to go black as I rode in the car with my husband and two week old daughter. My husband the calmest man I've ever met, actually started to look worried. I suppose that's because I was turning blue.

It seems like the scene from a horror movie, or the opening gambit in a novel, but for me this the moment in which I almost died. I was literally a breath away.

Due to a medical condition related to my pregnancy.

My pregnancy with my first and now only biological child was a horror show. I had everything a pregnant woman could have, yes, EVERYTHING. I even broke my left foot and couldn't get around very well. My poor OB was constantly on her toes with me and I was constantly in her office. The one time I didn't make sure that I my weekly appointment was the week I SHOULD have gone; doesn't it always work that way? As it turns out in those two weeks, the extreme pain I was feeling periodically in my side was my placenta ripping away from my uterus. My daughter was born seven weeks early and through C-section because of placenta previa ( a condition in which the placenta detaches from the uterus). By the time the rip was seen it was already six inches long. I had been losing placental fluids for over a week. My doctor gave me two choices, have a c-section and get the baby out now, or induce labor for which my now premature baby might not survive.

Hmmm.

We chose the c-section and I, like most women, had no idea of the possible complications from a caesarean birth. I bought into the idea that giving birth in the United States was an easy process, a breeze. Only women in third world countries and ones that did not have pre-natal care were the ones who died in child birth, right? No. I took my vitiamins and saw my doctor. I went to the dietician because of my gestational diabetes and took my blood sugar four times a day. I watched what I ate, drank plenty of water, and got my sleep and still had a horrific pregnancy. I could eat two things without throwing up and my morning sickness lasted the entire time I was pregnant.

Then came afterwards, I was in the hospital for four days, since my daughter was so early and had a terrible case of jaundice. After those four days we went home with instructions to return to my OB to get my staples removed in about a week. Fine honkey dorey, my husband and I were on our way home with a healthy, if premature skinny little baby. But she wasn't in the NICU.

I didn't even notice that my leg was swollen, it was normal to be a little swollen right? The ungodly pain had to be normal, someone would have said something. I even mentioned to the nurse that my feet and leg were swollen when I went to have the stapels removed, she wasn't concerned so neither was I. Then my right leg became swollen to the size of a football, and none of my shoes fit (I wear a size six). My leg was hot to the touch and unbelievably painful. I thought I'd strained something. Boy was I wrong. The day I almost died, I simply went home and went to sleep, not knowing I had a DVT which had just broken off in my leg and traveled to my lung, resulting in a pulmonary embolism. I went home and went to sleep, not knowing then that it was only because of God's grace that I woke up.

The day after the clot traveled to my lungs I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. I had broken my foot during pregnancy and couldn't really have anything done about that until after the baby was born. I went in and saw him on Friday, the weekend before my first mother's day. I told him my foot felt fine, but boy was my right leg killing me. I had it wrapped up with a pressure bandage and as I unwrapped it I could see his placid face getting a little frown. He touched it then looked up at me, and asked if I'd had any shortness of breath, I said yes.

He was out of the room in a shot, talking to his nurse telling her to call the hospital across the street immediately. When he came back he told me to go directly to the hospital to have my leg "Dopplered". Needless to say I was VERY confused. Then he explained, the heat in my leg, combined with the severe pain and swelling indicated a DVT and pulmonary embolism. Since my leg was still hot and the size of a football, we needed to be sure. I have never, and I mean never been so terrified in my entire life.

I was a twenty five year old new mother and this man was telling me that I could have a condition that could kill me, that should have killed me already. The day before. Although it took several hours and a bunch of tests, it turned out that he was right.

I had a DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis, a condition in which a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins in the body. I had never even heard of DVT or pulmanary embolisim, I was young and healthy, although I was not fit I'd never been hospitalized.

How could this be?

What had I done wrong?

If I knew now that I did then I would have been more aware of my risk. I was overweight, which contributes, I had broken a foot which made me immobile for several months, I had been pregnant and had surgery.

I was also of mixed race, African American and Caucasian. Both of those groups are at a greater risk of death from DVT (White RH. The epidemiology of venous thromboembolism. Circulation. 2003;107[23 suppl 1]:I4-I8.)

. All of these factors conspired to create in me the perfect condition for a DVT.

I was lucky, so very lucky. Although, I was in the hospital for ten days, (which seemed like an eternity because my daughter was only two weeks old when I went into the hospital), I survived.

Over 200,000 new cases of VTE (DVT) occur annually. Of these, 30 percent die within 30 days, one-fifth suffer sudden death due to PE (Pulmonary Embolism), and about 30 percent develop recurrent VTE (DVT) within 10 years. (Heir JA. Venous thromboembolism epidemiology. Semin Thromb Hemost. 2002;28(suppl 2):3-13.)

Whew. I was one of the lucky ones. I was on blood thinners for nine months, and had to have my blood checked weekly to make sure I was on the right dose. It's odd being on the same medication to save your life that they use to kill rats, but it saved my life and stopped me from having another clot.

BE AWARE!! Dvt can happen to anyone, any age, any demographic. Know your risk and discuss the possibiliites with your doctor.

The following information was found on the website www.apfsa.org

What Makes Deep Vein Thrombosis More Likely?

There are many factors that may increase your risk for deep vein clots.

• An inherited condition that causes increased risk for clotting

• Low blood flow in a deep vein, due to injury, surgery, or immobilization

• Cancer and its treatment

• Other medical conditions such as varicose veins

• Sitting for a long period of time like on a long trips in a car or on an airplane

• Pregnancy, especially the first 6 weeks after giving birth

• Being over age 60 (although deep vein thrombosis can occur in any age group)

• Being overweight

• Taking birth control pills or hormone therapy, including for postmenopausal symptoms

• Central venous catheters now account for almost 1 in 10 cases.

Your risk for deep vein clots increases if you have several risk factors at the same time. For example, a woman with an inherited condition for clotting who also takes birth control pills has an even higher risk to have a blood clot.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Deep Vein Thrombosis and of Pulmonary Embolism?

Deep vein thrombosis

• Swelling of the leg

• Pain or tenderness in the leg-the pain is usually in one leg and may only be present when standing or walking

• Feeling of increased warmth in the area of the leg that is swollen or that hurts

• Red or discolored skin.

Pulmonary embolism

• Chest pain when you take a deep breath

• Shortness of breath.

Some people only find out they have a deep vein thrombosis after the clot has moved from the leg and traveled to the lung (pulmonary embolism). It is important to see a doctor right away if you have symptoms of a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis.

Be your own advocate and find out your risk, understand the disorder and if you even think that the uncomfortable swelling in your leg could be something other than a strain. GO TO THE HOSPITAL! Do not wait, because although I ws incredibly lucky, don't wait to find out how it feels to be dying to breathe.