In 2012 the then 25-year-old had simply run two half marathons and was travelling in southeast Asia to have fun the top of her bar examination.
However, not long into the trip she started to experience symptoms.
“We had been travelling for a few weeks when my lower back started to ache,” she mentioned.
“I didn’t think much of it and ignored it for a week, chalking it off to the uncomfortable hostel beds.”
But on their final night time in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia her leg began to swell and inside a number of hours the ache and swelling have been “so severe” that she may not stroll.
Amaris recalled: “My left leg became discoloured and for the next two days my roommate and I went to different hospitals in Malaysia in order to get a diagnosis—all the while my leg grew progressively darker, the pain increasingly crippling.”
After present process checks in hospitals it was confirmed that she had deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a condition in which a blood clot develops in a deep vein in the body.
Unbeknown to Amaris, a part of the clot had already travelled to a few of her important organs.
“My condition was so serious I could have easily lost a leg or died,” she mentioned.
“To top it off, though I didn’t know it yet, part of the blood clot in my leg had already broken off and travelled through my heart and into my lungs.
“This complication (called pulmonary embolism or PE) is often fatal.”
She was flown to Tokyo in Japan as a result of severity of her analysis the place docs positioned a particular filter, referred to as an inferior vena cava filter, into the vein that goes to her coronary heart to catch future life-threatening clots.
There are a number of elements that may increase your threat of blood clots. Amaris had just lately endured three lengthy flights, which is one thing that may enhance your possibilities of a clot.
She additionally had two different threat elements, which significantly elevated her odds of creating blood clots: being on hormonal contraception and a genetic situation referred to as Factor V Leiden.
“After having DVT as extensive as mine, I was told that I wouldn’t be able to run again without excruciating pain,” Amaris mentioned.
“Determined not to let my medical history define my future, I have since trained for and run two half marathons and am currently training for three more half marathons in the spring of 2014, and the New York City Marathon in November 2014.
“I have exceeded all my doctors’ expectations, and because of my running and physical activity, my body has compensated by creating new veins.
“This process is called vein collateralization. In other words, even though my deep vein is blocked off because of DVT, my body is continually developing new, collateral veins to carry my blood.”
Other signs of a blood clot embody:
If you expertise any of those it is best to name 111 or see your physician.
And in case you're struggling to breathe or somebody has handed out it is best to name 999.
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