This one is way OT, but I don't care because it could save a life. First, I'll tell my story.
On Thursday of last week, I took a personal day and went to medemerge to get my prescriptions refilled. They require me to get bloodwork every 3 months to refill, which, until now, I've found to be a real inconvenience and totally unnecessary. Well, this past Thursday, everything was going fine until the PA listened to my breathing, as she always does. Nothing was wrong. She asked me a series of questions, as she always does. One was, "Do you ever experience shortness of breath?" I answered, "Actually, yes. Ever since covid, I get slightly winded even going up stairs. I need one extra breath when I reach the top. When I play hockey, I'm exceptionally gassed after a shift." In my mind, I've just let myself gain a few pounds and adding in covid, I figured I was just out of shape.
She decided to do some tests, and thank God she did. I was annoyed as she ran me through a few oxygen tests. My level was 99%, which is exceptional. Then I stood up and walked down the hall. It dropped to 77. Apparently, this is not good. After 3 hours in medemerge, I was sent to the ER for a CTA. I spent about 6 hours in the ER before the doctor came back to tell me that I have a pulmonary embolism. Yes, I'm 43, very active, and had almost no symptoms, and untreated, I would have had a 30% chance of dying. I spent Thursday through Sunday in the hospital and as of Monday, I'm back at work and feeling incredibly grateful that the PA decided she didn't like what she heard in my answer to a seemingly innocuous question. I am on blood thinner (Eliquis) and I'm told that in 3-6 months, the clot will be gone and I'll be back to 100%.
So go get checked. Even if you feel good. Even if you're young. If you feel anything strange, don't assume it's nothing. If you've had covid, be even more vigilant. It's possible that I'm going to live only because of a routine check-up. If this helps one other person do the same, I'll feel like it was worth it. God bless.
On Thursday of last week, I took a personal day and went to medemerge to get my prescriptions refilled. They require me to get bloodwork every 3 months to refill, which, until now, I've found to be a real inconvenience and totally unnecessary. Well, this past Thursday, everything was going fine until the PA listened to my breathing, as she always does. Nothing was wrong. She asked me a series of questions, as she always does. One was, "Do you ever experience shortness of breath?" I answered, "Actually, yes. Ever since covid, I get slightly winded even going up stairs. I need one extra breath when I reach the top. When I play hockey, I'm exceptionally gassed after a shift." In my mind, I've just let myself gain a few pounds and adding in covid, I figured I was just out of shape.
She decided to do some tests, and thank God she did. I was annoyed as she ran me through a few oxygen tests. My level was 99%, which is exceptional. Then I stood up and walked down the hall. It dropped to 77. Apparently, this is not good. After 3 hours in medemerge, I was sent to the ER for a CTA. I spent about 6 hours in the ER before the doctor came back to tell me that I have a pulmonary embolism. Yes, I'm 43, very active, and had almost no symptoms, and untreated, I would have had a 30% chance of dying. I spent Thursday through Sunday in the hospital and as of Monday, I'm back at work and feeling incredibly grateful that the PA decided she didn't like what she heard in my answer to a seemingly innocuous question. I am on blood thinner (Eliquis) and I'm told that in 3-6 months, the clot will be gone and I'll be back to 100%.
So go get checked. Even if you feel good. Even if you're young. If you feel anything strange, don't assume it's nothing. If you've had covid, be even more vigilant. It's possible that I'm going to live only because of a routine check-up. If this helps one other person do the same, I'll feel like it was worth it. God bless.