Survivor Stories
Survivors of Blood Clots - “People just like you”
Behind every blood clot diagnosis is a personal journey. On this page we share the real-life stories of survivors – their challenges, their courage and their recovery. These stories remind us that no one is alone in facing blood clots and that with awareness, treatment and support, survival is possible.
Dominic Roberts
Working as an Incident Manager for a government department. I developed a DVT that resulted in my hospitalisation. Due to a minor fever, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. After being given an IV antibiotic, my ex-wife suggested I ask for a CT scan (she is a nurse). The scan revealed multiple PE and I was given Clexane to attempt to break up the clot. This took about 5 days and I was sent home after that.
I was prescribed Rivaroxiban and I’m now relatively healthy. I am walking every day with at least 20,000 steps. It’s helped with weight loss and overall better outcomes.
Kendal Stanbridge
I was 28 when I found out I had the clot. I was very active and fit, running, weight lifting, horse riding, hunting.
On Feb 1 2024 I was diagnosed with a bilateral pulmonary embolism in my left lung. I had symptoms for over a month and was sent home from GP & ED 4 times within that month with “dehydration”.
No one took me seriously because I was young and fit despite having heart palpitations, chest pain and shortness of breath. I felt defeated and at this point I was scared to go to sleep in case I didn’t wake up. I went back to ED for the final time and refused to leave until I had an answer.
A simple d-dimer blood test was done which showed elevated levels and then a CT scan confirmed an unprovoked PE. It is a timely reminder to listen to your body and don’t give up if you think something is not right – doctors get it wrong, so wrong!
1 in 4 people die from a PE and this is easily preventable with early diagnosis. I feel there is little knowledge around blood clots in young people – I was considered “too young” to have one, so I wasn’t tested in the early stages. Knowing what I know now, I could have requested that blood test and saved myself time and long-term damage.
Trevor Johnston
I had a pain in my right calf muscle, like I’d pulled my calf at the gym, it was quite painful and didn’t feel right, so I went to the doctors. Unfortunately, the Doctor mis-diagnosed me with a Surface Vein Thrombosis and sent me home.
Later I was sitting at home relaxing when my Apple watch alarmed me to a very high heart rate of 177. I felt short of breath and asked my son to try the watch; he read normal 65 beats a minute. It was clear I was in some sort of trouble, and my wife rushed me to the North Shore hospital. Once I got into the emergency reception, they quickly realised I needed attention and rushed me through in a wheelchair to a bed in the ED.
I must say The Hospital was fantastic as it was all action stations, a quick chest x-ray, blood tests then a CT scan with injectable dye all seemed to happen one after each other.
I had an injection in my stomach and sometime in the early hours a doctor “who looked about 12” 😊 came and told me I had a DVT that broke of and travelling through my Groin and Heart and ended up in my Lungs. I had multiples clots in Both Lungs.
I stayed in Acute Care for 2 days as my Oxygen levels took a while to climb o an acceptable level. After 3-4 days I was sent home.
I was sent home not knowing what to do next, the anxiety was massive. I started searching for a New Zealand Support but could find very little. I found some good resources overseas.
It didn’t take long for me to decide that a New Zealand resource was needed badly, thus the New Zealand Blood Clot Foundation.