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Bonnie Houk
What condition strikes more than two million Americans each year and kills 200,000 people per year (more than breast cancer, AIDS and car fatalities
combined)? Chances are you have heard very little about the seriousness of a condition called Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. DVT affects the lower
extremities when blood clots cut off the blood flow throughout the legs. The blood clots can then break apart and travel through the heart and into
the lungs causing Pulmonary Embolism, which may result in death. Only about five percent of those suffering Pulmonary Embolism survive.
Who is at risk for DVT? Nearly everyone can be. Those at greater risk include pregnant women, smokers, the obese, those with limited mobility, complications
after major surgery, frequent flyers and the elderly. Some of us who show virtually no physical symptoms and appear healthy can suddenly experience DVT
and the results can be devastating. This is my story.
We all make mistakes. Sometimes we have to pay for our mistakes or, shall I say, "uninformed decisions" in a big way. Below are just a few of
the "mistakes" I made, which taken separately might have been harmless, but in combination could have been fatal.
For the past year or so I had not been feeling myself, not physically or emotionally. I struggled to find that perfect "balance" between work,
home and church. On the physical realm, the doctor told me I would need to take medicine for high cholesterol and triglycerides if I couldn't control them
with diet and exercise. I had also struggled with hormonal changes due, in part, to birth control pills. (Continued use of the pills is what I consider
mistake number one). I won't go into specific details about my emotional ups and downs, as they would probably bore you. But I will just say, I thought
I had the "bull by the horns", --I was invincible and I was on top of the world and nothing was going to keep me down.
In the middle of January, I accidentally cut my leg above the ankle. I didn't think anything about it, it bled, it scabbed, it got a slight infection,
but I didn't seek medical treatment. (Not seeking medical treatment was mistake number two.) Toward the end of January, I flew to Washington DC for my
job, a quick trip, there one day and home the next. As most flyers, I didn't move around enough during the flight to keep the circulation going in my lower
extremities, (I consider this mistake number three.)
Fast forward to the week of February 22nd, I went to bed Sunday night thinking, "I have really done something to the calf of my left leg" (the
same one I had previously cut). By morning it still hurt but I ignored it like most young busy mothers do (I thought it was a "charley horse",
only the pain would not subside). On Wednesday, it still hurt so I tried to loosen up my calf by jumping rope, one of my favorite exercise strategies to
keep my weight and cholesterol down and "vent my frustrations". (Jumping rope was mistake number four). By Thursday, the pain was unbearable.
I went to the chiropractor, who adjusted my hip, (Going to the chiropractor at this time was mistake number five). By Friday, I could barely drag myself
out of bed to go to work. The room was spinning, my heart was pounding, and I was short of breath and sweating profusely. However, being the dedicated
employee that I am, I gathered my inner strength and pulled myself together and put in a full days work (Working all day was mistake number six). That
evening I went to bed, not feeling quite myself yet, but not thinking my symptoms were serious. I woke up about 1:00 AM realizing something was very seriously
wrong. I woke my spouse and told him "take me to the ER now." Upon arrival to the ER, it was determined by a sonogram that I had a blood clot
or DVT the entire length of my left leg. I was admitted to the hospital and put on Heparin to dissolve the clot. In early afternoon the radiologist came
around and took me for a CT scan. It was a routine test, just to make sure no clots had broken off and were traveling to my heart and lungs. I hadn't been
back 30 minutes when the nurses came in and said "you are going to ICU now."
What happened next is truly a miracle. At this point I must insert that the physicians were wonderful throughout the whole process. Without their quick
reaction and dedication to their profession, I might not be writing this. Once in ICU, it was explained that a blood clot had passed through my heart and
into my lungs causing Pulmonary Embolism (PE) and unless a Vena Cava Filter was inserted into my vein, another blood clot could result in a massive heart
attack or another PE attack. The most unbelievable thing about the whole ordeal was it was later determined that I had passed the clot on Friday morning
when I had felt faint and it was only by the grace of God that I had survived almost another 24 hours.
After spending a week in the hospital, hooked to all sorts of heart monitors, oxygen, IV's and having multiple vials of blood drawn every couple of hours,
it was determined I have an inherited condition called Factor V Leiden gene mutation. In short, this gene mutation causes my blood to over-clot. After
doing some research, I discovered there are several hundreds of thousands of people with this condition. Many don't have problems but for others it causes
multiple DVT's, PE's and other serious blood related disorders. The important thing is they have determined the cause of my DVT. In short, this inherited
condition was the cause, the cut on the leg was the catalyst, that combined with flying and continued use of birth control (excess estrogen in the body)
was the right "cocktail" to cause the DVT and PE.
Hopefully my experience will also encourage others to pay attention to what their bodies are telling them and not to ignore their symptoms. If the answers
you get from the doctors are not what you think or feel is correct, keep asking questions, research your symptoms on the Internet and be more persistent
if things don't improve. We are our own best advocates for good health. Please don't take either your health or your purpose here on earth for granted.
Bonnie Houk
Kansas
Written March 2004
Follow up to this story: March 2005
I am completely off of Coumadin now. I take a maintenance dose of Nattokinase daily and my blood clot is completely gone with no permanent damage to the
valves in the vein! If you would like to contact me privately, please feel free to at: bonnie.houk@greenbush.org