I'd like to introduce you to Christina, a good friend of mine.
Here we are, back in the autumn of 2005 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore; I am hugely pregnant, like that wasn't obvious!
Christina and I met through an immigration forum devoted to helping US Citizens through the arduous task of immigrating a spouse to the United States. Christina's spouse, John, is from the UK as is mine. They'd met more than a decade ago whilst she was over there studying at Oxford.
Despite numerous email faux pas on my part, Christina and I have remained close over the last several years; through the hoops USCIS has made us jump through and subsequent screw ups on the part of our government, the thousands of dollars the process costs, back and forth trips to the UK, and to the eventual birth of our own AmeriBrit babies; her little Emma and our Little Imp.
Christina and I have now moved on from the immigration forum but have formed a bond with a couple of other women as well, that we've become close to through the process and over the course of the last few years and various get-togethers on the east coast. We stay in touch via each other's blogs, several daily email chats, phone calls and occasional get-togethers. We have all grown used to Christina voicing her fears about DVT's (Deep Vein Thrombosis) before her trips back to the UK with John and Emma. I think it's something that occupies the back of all of our minds, especially after the tragic death of NBC news reporter, David Bloom; to a DVT whilst covering the Iraq war in April of 2003.
photo courtesy of MSNBC
Since Bloom's death much attention has been given to DVT and prevention. It's natural, for our little group, with as much traveling (usually cross-Atlantic flights) as we do, to be a tad paranoid about this, especially me, as I tend to lead a more sedentary life than I should. So imagine our surprise to find out that when Christina went in for what was supposed to be a routine stripping of a varicose vein which ended up going horribly awry, to finding out she had a DVT which could have proved fatal. However, it wasn't as simple as that. It took a hell of a lot longer for her to find this out, days which could have cost her dearly and left beautiful little Emma without a mommy...
From here I'll let Christina tell you the rest of her story. If you come away from this with nothing else, please know that you are your own best advocate when it comes to your health. Don't rely on your physician, or anyone else. Get educated on your health and your body. BE YOUR OWN BEST ADVOCATE!
Oh and if you have any air travel planned any time soon...get up and MOVE AROUND!
