How to Raise Blood Clot Awareness: Discover Your Personal Plan

March – Blood Clot Awareness Month – has been a very eventful month for our community. This month has provided us with an opportunity to come together as one not only to raise blood clot awareness, but to share stories, ideas, and life-saving information about blood clots. This month, I have read countless stories from you. There have been stories from people who are celebrating survival and stories from people who grieving the loss of a precious loved one. I have spoken to people who had no idea that a blood clot could affect them, and I have spoken to people who work hard every day to share information about blood clot risks and signs and symptoms. I have spoken to people who are newly diagnosed with DVT and/or PE, and I have spoken to people who have been battling blood clots for years. Some people have reached out for reassurance and support, while others have reached in to give back to the community that has helped them. Some people are scared, hurting, and overwhelmed, and others are joyful and reassured. Some people are healed, and some people are not. Some people are at the beginning of their journey, while others have not even stopped on their journey to look back until now.

What this month has done is brought us all together, in one place at one time, to raise a united voice about an issue that has deeply affected us all, in one way or another. And believe it or not, people are listening. You can see it in the comments, the shares, the likes, and the readership here, and in all the other communities you are all a part of. If you doubt, simply type #BCAM into a social media or internet search bar, and see all the conversations that have taken place this March, and are taking place right now (it’s not too late to jump in on any of them, either).

On this last day of Blood Clot Awareness Month, I want to leave you with something everlasting, something that you can take with you into the days, weeks, months, and even years ahead. Just because March is over, does not mean we should stop communicating, connecting, and sharing about blood clots, or how they have impacted our lives. In fact, it is my hope that we use the momentum this month has created to continue talking about the issues that affect us all and to continue alerting people who don’t know, about how dangerous blood clots are. Not only that, it is my hope that we continue to bring awareness to blood clots, and we continue to support the organizations, groups, and communities that can effect change to ensure no one ever stops talking about blood clots, an often-overlooked public health concern. It is a concern that indeed affects us all.

Along with these thoughts, I am leaving you with a personalized plan for raising blood clot awareness. Anyone can do it, and anyone can make a difference. In fact, you already have. These are the things I did to start talking about blood clots, and today, my work here reaches over 25,000 people a month. Over 1,000 people a month receive my newsletter, and nearly 5,000 people connect with our community on Facebook every day. The good news is, you don’t have to start a blog or have a thousand followers to raise awareness. You can raise awareness where you are right now, with what you already have, regardless of what month it is, in just three simple steps. Here’s how:

 Step 1: Find your passion

After my blood clot, it seemed that my entire life fell apart. Everything in my life suffered – my job, my relationships, my health, and my happiness. I lost everything and had no idea how to get it back. I felt alone, scared, worthless, and even self-destructive at times. I was fighting a losing battle, and nothing anyone said or did, including myself, could make it better. It was the worst I have ever felt in my life.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what purpose any of my sufferings had, and what my purpose in life was. My attempts to discover this was futile, leading me to one dead-end answer after another. There was no justification for the suffering I was going through. There was no explanation for why I had lost everything. There was nothing I could possibly give back to a body – and a world – that had treated me so cruelly.

Then one day, I stopped looking for a purpose and started listening. I wasn’t the only one with a DVT and PE diagnosis. As it turned out, there were a lot of people out there who had also lost everything, just like me. There were a lot of people out there who had no idea what had happened to them, or why. Things started to shift in my mind, and I began to focus on what I believed was my passion: Helping other people through a blood clot diagnosis and recovery. I became determined to be the guide that I wished I had after my experience. I started Blood Clot Recovery Network – not even sure if anyone would read it. But, people did read it, a lot of people, and my work here continued to grow. Over the years, my work here has led to speaking engagements, freelance writing opportunities, advocacy events, and eventually, my career in the same field.

When I look back from where I am now, to where I was then, I still cannot believe one thing sometimes: My passion led me to my purpose.

If your passion leads you to blood clot awareness, you can: Talk about your experience, write about your experience (publicly or privately), tell everyone you know about blood clot signs and symptoms, tell everyone you know that they could be at risk for a deadly blood clot (and tell them why), educate other people about how to prevent blood clots and get involved with patient advocacy groups programs and services. With the far-reaching impact of social media today, anyone can make a difference, and anyone can share their story. By sharing our stories, we share facts about blood clots. Facts that matter. The possibilities are virtually limitless. Use your social media platforms – and your voice – to make a difference. Do as much – or as little – as you can or want to.

Step 2: Let nearly everything that you do be to help someone else   

After my blood clot diagnosis, I felt worthless. It is hard for me to describe just how worthless I felt, in fact. It was unlike anything I had felt before or anything I have felt since. I thought it would never get any better, and I thought there was nothing I could ever do to feel self-worth again. To sum it up, I couldn’t figure out why I had not died, because I had no reason to live anymore, I felt so hopeless.

Slowly, and not without pain and heartache, I started to realize that I was not worthless and that there were things I could do. These things came primarily in the form of helping other people and were things I was already starting to do. Whether it be sharing my story, sharing my experience in an online forum, telling someone about what my PE felt like, or simply letting someone else know I felt the same, hopeless way that they did – I was helping someone else. How do I know that? People started to tell me, even a simple “Thank you,” is evidence that you have made a difference. People would say, “I didn’t know this could happen to me!” I started to realize, that because of me, now they did know a blood clot could happen to them. Never underestimate the power of helping another human being, especially during their darkest hour.

Ways you can help other people: Share your story, share information about blood clots, share information about recovery, and tell your friends and family about what you are going through (if they don’t listen – that’s okay – they can save this for later), get involved in online support groups and forums, and tell your doctors about what you are experiencing after a blood clot diagnosis.  

Step 3: Always remember that there is hope for healing from blood clots

Each day, I talk to numerous people who are at different stages of their recovery. Some people are at the very beginning – they don’t even know they have recovery to do – and some people are far, far removed from the horrible things that happened to them – yet, they still have a story to tell. Some people have been recovering for a week, while others have been recovering for three years. Each of us is different.

I am often asked, “How far are you in your recovery from blood clots?” It has been four, almost five, years since my DVT and PE, and now, I consider myself healed. Sure, I will always have medication to manage and things to take into consideration that I never did prior to my diagnosis, but I am through the hard part, and I have seen that there is life – and purpose – on the other side of blood clots. There is beauty and healing and compassion and freedom from pain and suffering.

For some people, healing takes a lot longer, and still, some people seem to struggle their entire lives. I don’t believe everyone moves through recovery with the same outcomes, but there is hope for healing. That healing might not look the same for all of us, but it is there.

What helped me heal more than anything, was helping other people heal. Each day, I try to remember that in the work that I do. Helping other people is healing – for me and hopefully, for them too.

What you can do to help people heal: Share your experience, share your struggles, share your joy, let other people know they are not alone, invite them to join you in the online groups and communities, set up a weekly check-in email or message with someone you have connected with, and learn as much as you can about blood clots.

There you have it, your personal plan to raise blood clot awareness and share life-saving information about blood clots. Take this information, think about it, and begin making a difference when and where you can. You are a valuable person, you have a lot to contribute on this subject. We all do. When you have been affected by something like blood clots, awareness is ongoing. There is no right or wrong way to do it when it comes to your personal story. I know you can and will make a difference because you already have.

There is hope for healing and you are not alone,

 

 


Reader Writes In: How are you going to raise awareness? What is a part of your personal awareness-building plan?


That’s Called Hope: A special message for you during Blood Clot Awareness Month


Want more BCAM information? Find out why blood clot #AwarenessMatters.

 

From Make-A-Wish Employee to Making One of My Own Wishes Come True

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After my blood clot in my leg (DVT) and blood clot in my lung (PE) in the summer of 2012, I felt pain, fear and isolation with a degree of finality that I had never felt before. Physically, I had never felt as much pain as I did then and after losing all normal aspects of my life, I had never felt as hopeless and alone. I spent my days worrying about my health, my career, my ability to do the things I loved again and ultimately, my future. I did not know what I would be able to do with my life after blood clots, but I knew in regards to my personal and professional endeavors, it was always been important to me make a difference in the lives of others.

In searching for a way to get my life back on track after my diagnosis, I began working at Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana in hopes of finding a place where I could once again make a difference, this time in the lives of children facing life-threatening illnesses. From the beginning, I found I could relate to the Make-A-Wish mission to provide hope, strength and joy to those families going through unspeakable hardship, because I had been through a similar experience in my own life. Make-A-Wish gave me hope when I had all but given up on my future, strength to stand on my own two feet again, and joy in the opportunity to bring happiness to others.

When I launched Blood Clot Recovery Network in the early 2013, it was my goal to create a place where people could come together to share, learn, discuss and ultimately gain hope that, as a Survivor of blood clots, there is life and wellness. That while the pain, fear and isolation was the worst I had ever encountered, these feelings wouldn’t last forever and even more importantly, they didn’t have to be endured alone. While I hoped to make a difference once again in the lives of others, I feared that no one really cared about blood clots at the end of the day. Still, I said to myself, if I could help just one other person out there, I had done my job and I continued to pursue my advocacy work through BCRN.

Since that time, I know from your emails, posts, messages and tweets that I have reached countless people – far more than I ever thought possible. In fact, it was this community that gave me hope through some of my darkest days when I realized that I wasn’t going to be well in a week or two, or even six. Through it all, I kept writing and as this community expanded, so did my desires and dreams for raising even more awareness and elevating my work to another level that would give me the opportunity to reach an even greater number of people or make an even greater impact in the VTE community.

In light of those dreams, it is with great excitement that I have accepted a full-time position with the National Blood Clot Alliance as part of the Communications and Health Marketing team. In this role, I am excited to now be able to fully dedicate my days and my work to what I enjoy most, raising awareness about VTE. I am able to better pursue my passion and focus singularly on raising awareness and making sure people get the information they need to know about blood clots. Working with the National Blood Clot Alliance, and given the organization’s resources and unparalleled reach in the VTE community, I am confident I have an amazing opportunity to reach an optimal number of people, both those already affected by blood clots and those who don’t know what a blood clot is or how it might affect them.

It is without doubt that BCRN and the community you have helped create will continue. I look forward to continuing to blog and interact with you here. Your support, encouragement, stories and thoughts have made a difference, not only in my life, but in the lives of one another — in the lives of those who have survived, those who have lost a loved one, those who are scared, those who are recovering, those who are in pain, lonely and afraid, and those who are learning to live again. While I have provided the resources, it is you who has nurtured this community to make it what it is today.

To you I am grateful, and I hope you will continue on this journey of hope and healing with me, both here at BCRN and in my wonderful new relationship with the National Blood Clot Alliance.

There is hope for healing and you are not alone,

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